Colorful Feathers
by VioletRain03
Summary: Learning to fly, he thought it would be different and easier. He thought, he wouldn't need to risk his life. He would need to change himself to save his heart or maybe he wanted to lose it to them? OT6
1. Frightening Suspicion

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

**WARNING: This story contains Shounen Ai / Yaoi !**

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><p><strong><em>~~ 1. Frightening Suspicion ~~<em>**

**_~~ 11. April, Late Afternoon ~~_**

"It's nearly time. They will hatch soon." The king of _Amaterasu_* looked out of the large window which covered the whole wall. His view was directed at his guards, who guarded his entrance hall, and the young and different colored angels who flew through the wind and air. They were on their way back, rushed home to visit their parents on earth and also to search for the newborns. This year's newborns would be promising, he could feel it in his veins. Some of the newborns were already active and tried to control themselves, in vain. He could feel their presence, each of had no control over their aura and strength. The king's voice was pure ice. "Keigo, Syusuke, Genichirou and Kunimitsu, my sons, go to earth and collect the newborns. After two days, fly back there a second time and get the ones who are left behind. Force them to come along if they fight back, but don't kill them. We need every angel who survives his or her birth."

His son by blood - Atobe Keigo - and his adopted sons - Fuji Syusuke, Sanada Genichirou and Tezuka Kunimitsu - nodded and bowed down before they left the big, open and splendid living room of the king and walked out, ready to fly to their own home in _Amaterasu_. Most angels were born on earth, lived there as long as their wings needed to spread out of their back. They grew out of their human shell around the age of 20 - some sooner, some later. Many angels died in between the change, because of immense blood loss, or after their first lesson how to fly. Strict rules were to follow to survive and grow up as an angel.

"Saa, shall we? I'm tired." Syusuke asked his brothers/lovers and glanced over his lightly blue wings. They shone in the afternoon sun, glittered on the outlines in a dark shade of blue. His shoulder-length, brown hair and being the smallest from all his lover gave him all the more a feminine look. He spread his wings and moved them, lifted himself from the ground and began to fly. A picture for the gods. His lovers smiled, a rare side of angels, and followed suit.

The king, Atobe Raidon*², chuckled by the sight. It had been right to listen to his wife's wish, to adopt the three young angels and raise them as their own. His wife and the queen, Atobe Maemi*³ had always wanted a big family with many children. Sadly, her body had grown weak and wouldn't survive another pregnancy. Thin and skinny arms snaked over his golden, shiny wings, caressed every feather. Angels-dust hovered down slowly, glittered in the light. It seemed his wife talked too often with their sons.

**_~~ 11. April, Night ~~_**

"Still amazed by the night sky?" Syusuke asked the other brunette, Kunimitsu, and kissed him on the back of his head, ran his tender fingers along the lightly brown feathers with a darker shade on the outsides. Kunimitsu smiled and took off his glasses, laid them on the little table next to him. He pulled his smallest lover carefully with the drawn-in wings onto his lap and kissed him. The kiss was short but showed passion and respect. Both viewed at the sparkling lights above them, sat on their balcony and listened to the silence around them. Tomorrow would be a tyring and boring day, collecting all the newborns, like every 300 years.

"Thinking about your first flight again?" Keigo chuckled, understood the yearning gaze, and joint the two angels, leaned his hands on the balcony. His beauty was flawless, his wings glinted in light violet with each feather outlined in a soft gold. A mix between his mother's wings, pure violet ones, and his father's, shining in complete gold with silver outlines on each feather. Many newborns lost themselves in the look of the older generation, but forgot the unseen danger and risk with their admiration. Jealousy was the biggest factor for the high rate of death. It wasn't done directly, it was done when nobody watched. A sudden disappearance wasn't something unusual.

"I can't believe it's already time for the newborns."

"Try not to seduce the good ones. We need them. I remember the time where you purposely sprinkled the newborns with your angel-dust. Our father was furious about all the deaths." Genichirou, the last of the four lovers, entered the balcony. His pitch black wings with the silver patterns on the feathers were held strongly on his back as he walked like the teacher who he was. His subject for the newborns would be mainly discipline and respect.

"Newborns should know their place and also that we're untouchable for them."

"Might be true but pushing them literally over the edge to see who can already fly or has the right instinct is not a reason for you to teach them." Kunimitsu told Syusuke and caressed the blue feathers. A delightful sigh escaped the smaller brunette's lips. Syusuke let his wings go limp, enjoyed the refreshing and seldom gentleness. Nobody, who had a brain, would dare to touch his wings without getting permission from him.

"I think, it's fine. I'm already excited, the humans are so eager to give us their children in hope to receive a little bit of our angels-dust in exchange."

"Let's see what we find tomorrow." With that the four lovers made their way to their canopy bed.

**_~~ 12. April, Late Midday ~~_**

"Mom, Dad, look! I can already move them! I can move them!" Ryoga shouted in excitement and jumped up and down from happiness like a little boy, instead of a 19 years old male. A vase shattered to the ground as his newly wings, dark green with a golden outline, connected with it. That would be fifth today and the eleventh in all. It was unbelievable that Ryoma was only two years younger than him while he acted like an adult and his brother moved like a kid. "I can't wait till they come and pick me up! I'll wait outside!"

Ryoma groaned, turned the music louder and tried his best to ignore his laughing parents. His brother was plainly too stupid to get what it all meant. Being an angel and getting treated like a prince that was the dream Ryoga probably had in mind. Not the harsh reality of hard practice for earning control and discipline. His father had told him about his missing grandmother. She was angel, too, lived somewhere now, where no human would be able to visit or see her. She had cried, had been forced to leave her son and daughter-in-law. Well, Ryoga had always been a stray cat. The house would get quieter, left only one more person, his father - Echizen Nanjiroh - to annoy him.

Ryoma was thankful his parents considered his decision and didn't force him to go to the place whatever-it-was-called-again. However, even if he wanted to go, it was impossible. He would never go there, the 17 years old male had no wings, was an ordinary male. Ryoma smiled by this thought. Tennis was his life and that would never change, so he thought. The first signs, if he would have been an angel, should have appeared on his body two years before the wings would have spread. A shudder overwhelmed him by the memory of the brutal and bloody happening. The wings had ripped through Ryoga's skin, the cracking sound made his stomach sick. Thank god, he would never experience such a thing.

"They're here! They're here!" He heard his brother speak in joy, somewhere in the house crashed something glassy onto the floor. "Darling, please be careful with my precious por-" Another crashing noise echoed through the air. The object seemed to be far bigger than the other small things which his brother had managed to damage. What a noisy and stupid brother. Maybe the angels wanted to be nice to him and would spare him the embarrassment by taking Ryoga? He would never say his brother was a bad brother. Ryoga took good care of him and helped him with his studies. It was just that his dear brother had the problem to get too close to him when he didn't need it and this annoyed him all the more. Ryoma would never dare to speak this out loud, but he guessed, he would miss his brother and his help in Japanese writing.

Someone knocked at the door. He dropped his headphones and answered in a silent tone, staying in his lying position on his comfortable bed - flat on his stomach and reading the book his teacher gave him. His mother, Echizen Rinko, peeked inside. She didn't smile while she walked to the curtains and closed them completely. She told him to stand up and so did he. "Ryoma, they're here. Please stay here and don't show up, alright? They would want to check your body if they knew you were here." Rinko was out before Ryoma had a chance to talk further with had hoped he could at least take a fast peek at the different colored wings. Even if he never wanted to have one, he couldn't deny the fact that they shone gorgeously in the sun, sparkled beautifully in all their glory. He heard voices outside, soft and gentle, rough and stoic. Nonetheless, all of them had a hint of dangerousness and coldness.

His curiosity grew with each second, nonetheless, his senses warned him to take a glance at them. His mother was right. One look could destroy his entire future and wish. Angels were the most beautiful creatures but they were also the most dangerous ones. Ryoma sat down under the windowsill, pulled his knees to his chest and leaned his head on them. He listened to their magical voices, tried not to feel joy by the cold creatures. His window rattled, the curtains flew aside and for a second, Ryoma held his breath. He waited in fear, his hands began to sweat, his eyes frozen at one point on the opposite wall. He waited further but nothing happened. There was no angel.

The voices had disappeared and his mother re-entered his room soon enough. Her son breathed out the breath which he had held inside and relaxed. "They're gone." She closed the door without another word and let him calm down alone.

A sudden tiredness overtook him and he yawned. His spine and head numbed for a minute and he thought the pressure was the reason for it but it wasn't. He had no chance to think about it as his spine started to burn extremely and something sliced his skin, ripped it apart to give some space for something. He bit on his lips to suppress the scream or any other noises, only small whimpers ran out of his mouth. Whatever it was on his backside, it pierced through his flesh and when he believe, he would lose his consciousness...

...as soon as it had come, it was gone. It left him shaken and catching for oxygen. His muscles were tense and hurt, he felt sick and frightened. His shaky, right hand scanned his back, scared that his guess was right. He touch the warm skin - one time, a second time and also a third. Nothing, there was nothing, no wings, no feathers, no anything.

He sighed in relief. Everything was okay.

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><p><strong>* Japanese name composed of the elements <em>ama<em>** "heaven, sky"** and _terasu _**"to shine,"** hence **"shining over heaven."** In mythology, this is the name of a sun goddess who rules the heavens. I thought it would give a good name for the place where the story takes place.**

***² Raidon: The meaning - 'God of Thunder' or 'Thunder God'**

***³ Maemi: The meaning - 'Smile of Truth'**


	2. Silver Wings

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything!**

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><p><strong><em>~~ Silver Wings ~~<em>**

**_~~ 13. April, Morning ~~_**

"Have a nice day and don't forget our promise. Be on time!" Rinko shouted after her son and put a lock of hair behind her right ear. It was Wednesday, the day in the week where the family would eat outside the house and enjoy themselves. Her son would be late like always and her husband would act as childish as always, only Ryoga's teasing would be missing today. Her son would grow up like the beautiful angel he was, so why was she sad and frightened?

Someone inside the house shouted and cursed wife put her hands on her hips and shook her head husband had finally noticed the absence of his precious and perverted magazines. At least now she only need to worry about one child seeing such ugly stuff. Never would she allow Ryoma to turn into another Nanjiroh. She loved her husband but one of his kind was far enough for this household.

"Ne, Echizen, I heard your brother has turned into an angel. Is it true?" Momoshiro asked, drove his bike faster and crossed a street without looking to the left or right. Cars stopped abruptly and hooted. Both laughed and rushed to school, not wanting to be late for tennis practice. Ryoma listened most of the time while his best friend spoke. They reached the school when his shoulders started to hurt for the fifth time in the last 24 hours. It scared him and his mind tried to convince him to believe the truth but he forced himself to believe other way. It wasn't possible. If he really was one, he would have gotten the signs two years ago. He couldn't be one of them, it was something he didn't want to be.

"Echizen, are you coming?" His friend asked and he nodded in response, sprinted with him to the courts.

**_~~ 13. April, Late Afternoon ~~_**

Tennis practice had been the raw torture. Not only had their captain commanded them to run 100 laps around the big tennis courts, no, he still had no idea how words could travel so fast. His classmates hadn't given him a single minute for himself. They had asked him all sorts of questions about his brother, now that he was an angel. How the hell could they have such a wrong picture about angels? They weren't cute or sweet, they were brutal and egoistic! He had gotten a headache from all the squeals and happy cries. Thankfully, his friend wasn't so noisy.

The family dinner had been boring and quiet. Somehow, without Ryoga's loud and annoying voice, it hadn't been the same. His absence had kicked in so soon.

His body felt heavy, his muscles awaited longingly the hot water in the steaming bathtub. Ryoma could finally relax when his body connected with the welcoming fluid. It felt so damn good, he would fall asleep any moment if just his mother wouldn't want to take a bath, too. The soap colored the water slightly violet, surrounded him with a fruity scent. He loved to bath, it was the best thing to do, whenever he needed quietness and silence, the time to think and forget. Only this time, the fright and worry didn't fade away, instead, they grew with each passing minute. The pain was numb but it existed and this was what scared him. Something was going to happen and he didn't like it one bit.

He got out of the comforting bathtub, after his mother called his name for the nth time and knocked at the door for the last time before she would storm her way in. His body glittered in the light because of the water which streamed slowly southwards and onto the tiles. Ryoma grabbed a towel and dried his pale body with it. The teen stopped mid-action by his own reflection in the mirror and sighed in relief by the sight. No wings were visible but would it stay like this? One glance, one quick look on his backside could change his future. One little peek at his spine could tell him a fearfully truth, would make him unable to leave his unwanted life if it really existed.

No, he didn't want to think about it. He was human and would stay as one... still...

The curiosity nagged on him, he wanted to stop the fear and live his life. It was only one more day. Afterwards, the angels couldn't get and snatch him from his human life, but he couldn't stand the hoping and scaring any more. However, if he truly saw the signs, his mind would break down - to see it would be worse than hoping and wishing, wouldn't it? Any further thoughts were interrupted by the opened door and Ryoma yelped, covered his privates and looked in the eyes of his mother. "Ryoma! How long do you plan to stay in here?"

**_~~ 13. April, Early Night ~~_**

He moved from one side to another, never putting any pressure on his backside. It was the same feeling like yesterday, only stronger, harder and more painful - more intensive. To say it was uncomfortable was a huge understatement, his spine didn't hurt - it pulsated with an enormous heat, made him groan out in pain. Ryoma breathed in and out through his gritted teeth and hissed in agony. It was painful as hell. He arched his spine, touched carefully the skin with his trembling fingertips.

Ryoma couldn't hold back the screams any longer as a wave of pain overwhelmed him. Tears heated his eyes and welled out of them, his bones cracked, and another wave washed over him, forced him to scream louder, to hope for help. He heard his parents rushing inside his room and talking to him, asking what had happened. His father panicked. "Ryoma!"

Said teen could only scream, blood rushed through his head, numbed his sense to see. He couldn't do anything other than yell, something wanted to rip out of his spine but couldn't. It was hindered, stopped - he clenched his body together, shook violently from the pain. He shouted more, tried to get relief from the agony through his voice. It was useless, he knew, and still he didn't stop, plainly because he couldn't. His parents pressed him down onto his stomach and sliced his shirt off of him, took a good look at his spine.

"His body is fighting it, it has changed position. We need to keep him silent or they will hear him. His voice is already changing. Rinko, keep him silent! I'll try to fixate it anew." He heard his father talk and soon icy old hands were on his skin, let him whimper by every touch. It felt disgusting and he struggled to get out of reach from his father's hands, nevertheless, he was held at place. Ryoma didn't know what his parents did, his mother tried to sooth him and covered his mouth with a cloth, promised him sweet nothings if he would stop screaming. However, he couldn't as something inside him pressured him to shout out.

Hands - his father's, he guessed - pressed and pushed different parts of his backside and something moved near his spine, pierced its way into a different position. He felt sick, a metallic taste streamed over his tongue and he wanted to throw up. "Shhh, honey. It'll be over soon, give us a few more seconds and it's fixated at the right position again." Fright overwhelmed him. What eactly were they fixating? What was fixated on his spine that it hurt so much? The hands pushed another time, directly where it hurt the most and a stranger's voice screamed with all his lungs, it was too loud to bear and Ryoma's ears rang by it. A few seconds later, he realized it was his own voice, like he had never heard it before.

"Nanjiroh, hurry up!" The sounds around him started to quieten down, his body began to flinch without his knowing. Something struggled, pleaded, to be released. Fresh and cold wind blew the window open and flooded his room, his parents yelped and stumbled to the end of the room, left him on the bed, yelling for them to stop the pain. He wouldn't be able to hold on much longer, unconsciousness began to surround him. It wondered him, why hadn't he fallen for it already?

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><p>Kunimitsu and Keigo had heard the screams and shouts clearly from afar and were everything else than pleased by the sight of the shaking and yelling newborn. Without thinking, both flew down and broke inside the room, recognizing the teen from yesterday - the one who had hidden himself under the window-sill. Keigo grinned inside his mind, he had known it. The teen had smelled like his brother - like a newborn.<p>

Neither of the two fold his wings to give the humans space. No, they widen them to force the parents against the wall and out of the room. Keigo was the first to react. He took the knife from its scabbard, cut the pale skin on the spine apart, blood rushed out of the wound immediately, and put the knife back into its place. He slid his fingers between the open flesh, ready to force the wings out. The human beneath him wanted to move and stop him but his lover hindered him and held him still.

"Calm down. Nearly finished." Keigo heard Kunimitsu speak to the teen, his voice wasn't even near the gentleness of a human. The words sounded more like a command. Keigo had no time to listen further, his own rage increased after he found an objects which stopped the human to turn into an angel. He roared furiously by the awareness how it was constructed. He couldn't rip it out completely without killing the newborn. He let go, stood straight before the teen and looked at him without any emotions. Kunimitsu glanced at him. "Kei, what is it?"

The kid was fighting to stay awake and to not fall into the unconsciousness. He struggled and screamed silent screams, tears covered his whole face and blood trickled onto the already red sheets. His breathing was shallow, slowed down with each breath. The golden orbs were directed at him but he noticed the forlornness in them. Keigo looked at his lover with his dark, purple eyes and said, "They connected it with his whole spine and neck. They wanted to keep him as a human being with all their sick minds. We need to carry him home. Genichirou shall take a look at him."

With that said, he forced his fingers inside the flesh once more, loosened the strings a little to ease the pain and keep the teen awake. Kunimitsu forced the teen to hold his mouth shut, only muffled yells escaped out of it. The kid wasn't the first one whose parents had done something like this, but it was the first time he had seen such a strange construction out of metal and silver. It didn't stop the once beautiful silver wings, it destroyed them and shred them as soon as they grew too big and connected with the metal.

How could they dare to humiliate an angel in such a way? To torture a newborn and push him to stay as a human was a disgrace for his race! Being an angel should make the humans feel relieved. Their sons and daughters had been chosen. Nonetheless, there were only two different kinds of humans - the one who sold their children for a little bit of angels-dust or the ones who wanted to keep their children and hid them in the darkest corner. Little did they think about the consequence of killing an angel because there was no way to suppress the growing of the wings and shredding them was like killing the biggest part of an angel.

Keigo pushed his hands under the human's knees and stomach, turned him around on his back and lifted him up. The kid was still conscious but his eyes were losing its strength. They needed to hurry. His father wouldn't be pleased to hear about their failure to save a newborn. He moved his wings, lifted up in the air and made his way out of the house. His lover followed him, let the window slid out of its frame and crash onto the ground. Rinko and Nanjiroh could only look how their son got carried up in the sky.

**_~~ 13. April, Night ~~_**

Both landed perfectly on the ground and walked without glancing around to their private rooms. The guards at the entrance watched them carefully, noticed the human in the prince's arms. The princes ignored them and continued to walk along the corridor and entered the large living room where his lovers waited for their return. Surprisingly, his parents were there as well. Keigo clenched his jaws together, it wasn't good if his father was at their home. Horrible news were often delivered directly to them from their father and mother.

His mother, Maemi, drew in a thin breath and was surprised to see her lovely son in such an appearance. Blood trickled from the middle to the end of his wings, his clothes were already drown in it. His other two lovers seemed to think the same, just his father, Raidon, wasn't surprised - he had often seen his sons in such a mess - but angry. "Why do you bring a human in our home? Explain!" The hate and disgust about having a human near the holy home of the king and queen was clearly shown. Kunimitsu and Keigo were surprised their father couldn't tell from the scent that the human would have been already a newborn if the thing wouldn't suppress the wings.

"He is still a human for now. The humans around him constructed something which shred his wings whenever they grew too big. I can't take it out without killing him." Pitch black eyes watched him and Raidon figured if he should punish his son for such a foolish choice. The human could be a traitor or something else. He was the king and carried the responsibility of their lives. His view landed on the shivering kid, the temperature up here was too cold for his body as he seemed to be at the very beginning of the change. He sighed.

"Put him on the desk and I'll take a look at him." The king personally walked over and waited for his sons to come closer and show him the human. It shocked him to see the teen awake - eyes unfocused, breath thin and slowly, red, narrowed eyes but the spirit was there, he saw it. The human whimpered when he was laid down onto his stomach and fingers scanned his backside hurriedly. "I see what you mean. Syusuke, Kunimitsu, Keigo, hold him still and silent. Genichirou, help me to remove the thing from his neck while I take the spine."

The king had no time for a warning or any other kind of these useless things human wanted to have. He started his work and forced his fingers through the still open skin of the human who began to wake up from the restless trance and tried to trash around and scream. His sons stopped all the motion and the body beneath them shook violently and muffled screams were audible. Genichirou did the same by the neck, clenched and pushed at the damn thing. So much work for an, probably, useless newborn. They would have thrown him away if they weren't in need of newborns.

Two glittery fingertips with bluish angels-dust came into his view and his brown eyes landed on Syusuke who held the cloth with his free hand against the teen's mouth. Genichirou nodded at the silent question and let his lover smear the poison on the metal, careful enough to not touch the sensitive flesh or wings. The teen screamed loud enough to break their ears and trashed his body in every direction. It burnt itself into the metal, loosened it up.

All of them let go, waited and saw, how the human struggled to keep himself alive. The human clenched his body tightly together into a ball. The yells, the rushed movements and the fear of the human, it all was over a minute later when silver wings spread out of his spine.


	3. Sensitivity Of The Wings

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

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><p><strong><em>~~ Sensitivity Of The Wings ~~<em>**

**_~~ 13. April, Night ~~_**

Raidon smiled in satisfaction. The newborn slipped into the unconsciousness, his wings fell southwards and slammed onto the ground - glittery and bloody feathers hovered down slowly and covered the now also bloody tiles. The wings were silver, right now mixed with the newborn's blood. "At least three of the seven newborns have survived. The humans get more and more reckless with their ideas. I wonder, how far will they go to keep their beloved children?" He washed his hands in the bowl - filled with a mixture of water and special angels-dust - which was held by a maid with lightly yellow wings.

He turned on his heels, his golden orbs directed at his awaiting sons. His wife watched everything from afar, sat comfortably onto one of the large chairs. "I want you, my sons, to have a good eye on the three. I want to know what their intensions are and if they want to disturb our piece. This kind of newborns are mostly train from their parents to destroy us. If one of them should be one of this case, kill him and his family, show no mercy. Let the humans know who we are and what we are capable of. But should they be innocent, train and lecture them about our race - _if_ they manage to stay alive for so long."

"Yes, father." Keigo, Syusuke, Kunimitsu and Genichirou said in unison, bowed deeply and waited for the double door to shut into its locks. They relaxed and breathed out. "Someone call a maid, let her clean up the mess and dirt. Ore-sama needs a long, hot shower." Keigo went into their bathroom and shampooed his hair and skin. While he was busy with massaging his tense shoulders, gentle and feminine hands ran a cloth over his wings, careful enough as to not harm any of the feathers. Soft nails caressed every single feather and it gave him a shiver. His wings were his biggest weakness - an area which had the power to turn him defenceless and unfocused. Every angel had a different feeling - some liked being touched, others disliked it, even hated it and got furious if someone swiftly touched them.

"I love your wings. They're the most beautiful ones I have ever seen."

"Syu, do you mean it or are you saying it because you want me to kiss you?"

"Maybe both. Why don't you find it out by yourself?"

"What had my father and mother told you?" The caresses never stopped, turned him more and more into jelly. Keigo had already problems with speaking whole sentences. His lover was very good in this, loved it to confused and distract them from his sometimes evil and sadistic self. Syusuke was thinking about something. Something which his lovers wouldn't agree with so easily or if they weren't distracted. It wasn't just a rumour that the angel Fuji Syusuke was the seduction in person. The, once had been, newborn had learnt fast how to control the senses of the other angels. It was impressive how a fragile as him could change his scent and look, his very being so fast and perfectly.

"We talked about _the_ three newborns. The ones who were hidden by their parents. He gave Gen the assignment to be their guard."

"You want to do it?"

"Yeah."

**_~~ 14. April, Early Morning ~~_**

Ryoma felt nothing, every muscle in his body was numb or tense as if he weighed more than before. The newborn felt the painful truth - the sudden change of control over his muscles, and the uncomfortable position he was in, told him the sorrowful truth. He lay onto his stomach, his wings were too heavy to carry, so they hung over his spine and touched the now clear, white tiles under him. He rested on a table or something similar to it, he wasn't absolutely sure about. Pain and an electrifying sensation overwhelmed his body whenever he tried to use the wings - be it lifting or stretching them, it was all connected with unbearable agony and caused him to stay entirely still.

His brother, Ryoga, had managed to move his wings after a few hours of practice. He was already lying for a few hours and still couldn't handle to lift himself or even crack an eye open. The newborn was in some kind of trance or sleep - his sense all gone, left him vulnerable. Everything was exhausting, hurt when moved and a confusing but pleasurable smell stayed with him all the time, dizzied him. He wanted to shake it off before it burnt itself into his clothes and would never leave him. Sadly, he plainly couldn't. It cost him too much strength, something he wished he had but hadn't. Ryoma could taste it with every pore of his tongue, the taste of something spicy, fruity, flowery and sweet at the same time.

"Wake up." A rough voice commanded out of nowhere. Were the words directed at him? "I told you to move, newborn!" Ryoma would have jolted up and out of the slumber if his body would have listened to his brain. The smell and taste disappeared and got replaced by a bitter and cold flavour. The sound of something rustling and the shadow, which stood in front of him within seconds, surprised him, still, he didn't move. The angel appeared out of the darkness, which surrounded him, and tried to force him out of sleep.

"Gen! Wait!" Another voice appeared out of nowhere, soothed the angry angel and Ryoma's senses were immediately wide awake. Angels were not so nice as to spare him from whatever he had done wrong. The punishment would only get worse. The newborn waited for any kind of impact, pain or agony - something related to those feelings. Nothing came at first and he wondered with anxious in his heart about what was to happen next. Then, a hand ran over his shoulders and shoulder blades – first his right side, followed by the left. The tender fingertips flew southwards to the bridge between his wings and his shoulder blades.

Ryoma tried his best not to shiver by the unknown touch and insecurity but as the hand paused in its movements directly over his wings, he began to get scared – feared the next incoming minute. The fingertips were pressed against the feathers, the nails dug lightly into the sensitive, silver wings and Ryoma jolted out of the save darkness called exhaustion. His eyes snapped open and revealed a blurry mess of silhouettes.

He breathed in harshly, focused on anything else than the pain inside him, tried hard to hold himself steady. Ryoma would never allow himself to break down in front of the angels. Another hand from a different angel joint the other, pushed and lifted his wings – achieved that said wings rose and spread into the air while Ryoma cried out in pain by the uncontrolled action. Nonetheless, the hands stayed, didn't loose the grip or moved away.

"I have never seen such sensitive wings. I barely put any pressure on it and he is already screaming out in pain."

"It's probably the damage from the cage which we had ripped out of him. I start to doubt that he will be able to hold his balance at all."

"In other words – he's useless for us and worthless as an angel."

Ryoma's fear disappeared and was replaced by anger and hate. There it was, the reason why he hated angels and everybody who lived with them - his brother was an exception. There were only two sorts of angels – the one who were useful and the one who were useless and got deleted out of the world. Killing their own race wasn't rare for them, Ryoma dared to say it was regularly. He wouldn't let them kill him. He would throw himself out of the next window before any of them could lay a hand on him.

As he came to this conclusion, there was only one way left for him – gritting his teeth shut and bear with the pain. The newborn breathed in roughly, forced his hands to steady his body as he moved up into a sitting or kneeling position. Something pierced painfully into his skin and he slammed down onto the hard thing beneath him in seconds. He groaned in anger and tried again. The hairs on his neck stood straight, sweat drops streamed over his skin and all his muscles twitched in disagreement. The sudden coldness left goosebumps on his skin. "I don't think it's his own reaction which forces him to stay put and silent."

"Mother…" All the voices, four voices to be exact, around him sounded surprised and full of respect, a welcoming smell filled his nose and calmed Ryoma, who still tried to sit up and escape, unwillingly. "…what brings you to us?"

"Your father told me to look after the newborn as nobody of you came to us." The scolding was clearly audible and all the angels around him bowed deeply in apologize. So the woman was above them in the food chain. Where the hell was he? "It seems to me that the newborn has still some leftover of the metal in his body which hinders him to move in any way. Try and see for yourself." The voice sounded soft, nevertheless, it had a dangerous tone swinging within and nobody should underestimate her.

Ryoma's vision cleared and he saw right in time, they nodded and stepped around him, covered his view with their colourful wings. The hand from a few minutes ago returned and the newborn couldn't help as to growl loudly as a warning. He didn't want to feel pain, it would be better if they kill him instead than letting him stay alive in a form he hated with all his heart. The woman petted his hair and caressed his cheek with her other tender hand. "Shh… my son, think about the wind and the endless sky and the pain will be gone."

"Y-You're….not my….mother!" Ryoma hissed, pulled his head out of her reach and swatted the hands away from his spine. The rage gave him strength, even if it was limited. The strong pull on his wings, for the disrespectful behaviour, forced him to arch his back and yell from the hurt.

"You'll keep silent and-"

"Genichirou, control your anger. He doesn't know the rules, yet. This young and naive newborn will understand his place soon enough." The voice promised a hard and bloody way for him to learn those said rules and places. Thank goddess, Ryoma had already decided not to live in this world, nor did he want to stay here in any way. He would return home to his old life. There must be a way to get ride of the wings, no matter what - and if he needed to cut them by himself, he would do it!

"I doubt it." He spitted out and glared at her. If she really thought he would bow down, she was so horribly wrong.

"We'll see." She turned on her heels and her attention lay on her four sons. "Leave him in Yukimura Seiichi's care. Maybe if we put those two newborns together, the little one will understand." A cloud of glittery dust flew over him as she left the hall and Ryoma held his breath, knowing the affect of it. Humans had died because of angels-dust. Not everything which was shiny or made of gold was precious, humans couldn't understand it. It took less than five minutes for the newborn to hear the doors open and a scent of lime reached his nose before the sound of moving wings signalled him the new visitor.

"You called me, my princes?"

"We're impressed. You can fly and control yourself so soon after your birth. The queen wants you to help this newborn and teach him respect."

"As you wish, _my prince_." The real emotions were hidden behind a pale face with amazing violet eyes. Ryoma knew in an instant, he had found an ally when Yukimura Seiichi's eyes met his.


	4. Always Be On Guard

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

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><p><strong><em>~~ Always Be On Guard ~~<em>**

**_~~ 14. April, Morning ~~_**

"Hey." Seiichi knelt beside the young angel, laid his right, pale hand over the newborn's left cheek and tried to sooth and win the other angel's trust. The golden orbs glared at him and the cheek was put out of his reach. The newborn didn't want his help, nor did he want any aid from him. He saw the pain and the hate, the disgust and agony, it was all clear to be seen. He pushed one of his blue locks behind his ear, ease his voice to a gentler tone. "You're very young, I dare to say that you're far away from being twenty. Am I correct?"

The four princes watched them from afar, stood in different places in the large room. Still, no matter where Seiichi looked, they looked beautiful with the sun behind their bodies and wings. The newborn groaned in pain as the sunlight hit his sensitive eyes and the silver wings wanted to cover his eyes but couldn't which caused more pain. The bluenette lifted his left hand slowly over the newborn's neck, down to the right shoulder and southwards to the shoulder blades. He hardly touched the skin, nevertheless, his tactic was discover quickly as the small angel bit on his bottom lip and pushed himself up with his hands and feet. He yanked his hand away and stood up, took three steps backwards to get out of the wings' reach.

The silver wings spread wide, even wider than Seiichi could already spread his own wings, to balance the unsteady body. A shriek, high and long, startled the other newborn and ripped him out of his stunned self. The source of the noise curled himself into a ball as good as he could. The breathing was hitched; sweat and blood covered his spine and began to leak down the fine skin. The newborn tried to crawl away, stand up or move at all, it was all useless, completely in vain because his wings were the source of balance and without the strength to control them, he would never be able to stand straight.

"If you don't let us get the thing, the rest of it, out of your spine you'll never be able to fly or walk straight. You want such a life, newborn?" Genichirou asked him in a furious tone, nonetheless, the called angel stayed silent and shot him a piercing glare and gritted his teeth. The newborn breathed in and out a couple of times before he pushed his body up from the ground and into a sitting position. His body trembled and he bit his lips bloody to suppress the need to yell and scream.

"You..." Genichirou pointed at Seiichi. "...bring him to your and the other newborn's dorm. Teach him to listen and get the thing out of his damn body. If he shouldn't have submitted at the time when we visit you three, leave him alone and turn your back on him. Let's see how he can survive without any help above the earth." It sounded heartless and rough, the bluenette couldn't hide the shiver when the meaning behind those cruel words sank in. He needed to change the other newborn's mind or an innocent life would end.

Another high shriek made both of them look at the newborn, only to find Kunimitsu next to him on one knee, the silver wings were in his iron grip while the other hand hovered over the fresh and still open wound. He forced his hands inside and with one short and swift pull were the tiny pieces of metal out and a whine escaped the newborn's mouth. "Hush, newborn. It's over, so heal your wounds and return to us as soon as you're fully healed. Yukimura will guide you around."

The words sounded like an apologize, like sweet nothings, but the voice was icy cold and emotionless. The angel with the lightly brown wings, a darker color outlined them, stood up and viewed at the newborn sharply through his glasses. The silver wings fluttered in the air gently and weakly, tasting the none-existing wind and the feeling of being able to move freely. Seiichi was relieved for not needing to do it. He couldn't bring pain to such a young and stubborn teen. However, his relief didn't last long. The determined stare from the other newborn promised trouble and punishment.

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><p>Ryoma glared and reached out for the silver wings, wanted to rip them apart. He hated them! Maybe he would have liked them if they wouldn't have been colored in his favorite color or if they would at least sparkle a bit. But no, they were plain and simply painted in a dull silver. The newborn pulled at them, his eyes narrowed dangerously. Pull after pull, each of them got stronger. Kunimitsu narrowed his honey brown orbs too and stopped the hand from touching them, sensing the purpose behind the movement. His face was expressionless, cold as they humans would call it. "Bring no shame onto our race. We do not lose our wings through our own hand! You'll receive punishment with each time we caught you by doing it!"<p>

_Our race_... Ryoma felt the need to throw up. He would never be one of them, they would see soon enough. He would find a way out of here; Yukimura would help him, maybe even without knowing it. A hand grabbed his right wrist and pulled him up on his feet. His body tensed instantly and the silver wings flattered wildly and uncontrolled, catching all the attention in the open bluenette loosened his grip from his wrist, nevertheless, stayed where he stood and watched in awe how his wings moved. Ryoma wanted them to stop, to lay quietly on the ground and stay there - but it seemed as if the wings had their own mind.

"Interesting." The angel with blue wings said and hummed while he approached him slowly, flying over to him through the air. It looked magical, elegant and unbelievable gorgeous for someone with such a horrible personality. Ryoma didn't flinch, nor did he step backwards. The angel was in front of him in mere seconds, put the right index finger under his jaw and forced him to tilt his head back. The young angel pierced into deep blue eyes and held his breath. A sudden chill ran across his body, and he exhaled the breath in a shudder. Fingers….. tender and thin fingers played with his wings and caressed them, turned him unwillingly into jelly. He hissed and stumbled back, not wanting any more uncomfortable touches from the cruel angel.

He wouldn't fall for such a simple trick, never. He would be more careful from now on. If his wings were one of his weaknesses, then he wouldn't allow anybody to touch or get near them. Ryoma stumbled back, bumped into Yukimura who placed his hands on his shoulders and held him gently.

"I'm looking forward to see you again. Like one of my brothers has told you, you'll come back here as quickly as your injuries are heal." The blue-winged angel chuckled and a gleam sparkled in his hawk eyes. The three princes around him changed positions, obvious they were jealous for the small affection he had just gotten. They stared at him, pierced him with their hard and strong gazes. Ryoma shuddered by the intensity but didn't lose eye-contact with any of them. The blue-winged angel chuckled, laughed all the more.

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><p>"Interesting." Syusuke repeated the word once more. He was amused, the unknown newborn who hadn't fallen for their shiny and glittery wings, was funny. Normally the newborns were crazy and closely addicted to touch them or get touched at least once after their birth. The brunette didn't like it that two of the special newborns weren't interested in his wings, or his lovers' wings, at all. The youngest newborn had reacted the same like Yukimura Seiichi - not interested in them in the least. It made him itchy to get the attention. He wanted to give both of them a taste of it. His slightly poisoned angels-dust.<p>

"If you would excuse us, my princes? I'll show him around now." The smaller brunette glanced at his three lovers, Keigo watched the two carefully, Genichirou nodded while Kunimitsu was lost in thoughts, thinking strongly about something – otherwise he wouldn't ignore an angels' presence. Yukimura bowed deeply and guided the stumbling and pouting newborn out, closing the door behind them. Genichirou spoke first after the privacy and silence returned. They would speak freely and without formality, switching back from being brothers to lovers.

"Syu... Keigo told me you want to take the assignment to be the newborns' guardian?"

"Yes."

"Why?" Genichirou asked but got no reply. The other angel stood by the window and stared outside, his focus rested there entirely. The angel with the black wings got curious, once his many calls received the same answer - none. He walked up to his lover and his dark brown orbs hardened by the sight. The two newborns, Yukimura tried to teach the other one to hold the wings upwards, stood at the edge of the bridge - the single connection between the two palaces and the main hall. The newborns, who entered _Amaterasu_ at a later time, were sleeping and living in the same room of one of the corridors in the main hall. Their home, for now, was directly above the large hall, where all the important meetings took place. A symbol of their importance in this world.

The newborns, who arrived here on time and without any difficulties, lived at higher corridor which was more distanced to the big hall. Syusuke chuckled deeply, a shiver rolled over his three lovers' spines – they had joint the smaller brunette at the window. "Syu?"

"He won't give in. He hates us with all his heart." A hand snaked from behind him around his waist and pulled him close. The brunette angled his head and kissed Keigo who played along, tightened the grip on his waist and broke the kiss after a few seconds. Kunimitsu used the free time to go inside their private bathroom - his robe and hands were bloody from his earlier actions.

"Because of the color of his wings?" Genichirou asked and laid his hands around Keigo's chest and pressed the beautiful wings against his own chest, touching the ends of the purple wings with his own black wings. A purr escaped the diva's throat and he trusted his body in his lover's gentle and strong arms. His wings lowered defencelessly, allowed the different hands to run tenderly over the soft feathers.

"Yeah, his wings don't have any kind of outline which symbolize his not-existing harmony with his being and his wings." Syusuke liked the trust and leaned his body stronger against the purple-haired diva. _Their_ diva - he remembered correctly. Syusuke's smile brightened by the thought. Keigo always had liked to act like a diva. The smaller brunette pointed at the three newborns' home to show his lovers what he meant. "I wanted to take the part as their guardian because of those three."

"Actually, our count says five." A newcomer interrupted them. Two pairs of wings stopped to move and revealed the two best researchers of their kind. They bowed deeply as a respectful greeting before they approached the three princes. Inui Sadaharu, an angel with pure white wings and a greyish outline, and Yanagi Renji, an angel with pitch black wings and also a greyish outline, gave the weekly report as usually.

"Speak." Keigo commanded and paid both researchers attention. The other two princes stepped aside, there was no need to show their closeness and weakness, even if the two knew about. No secret could stay hidden when they were near. Even if they knew about their relationship, they were smart enough to say nothing and kept silent. Kunimitsu walked out of the bathroom, just in time to see Genichirou and Syusuke entering the glassy balcony and lifting up in the air, flying away. Their home was one of the highest places.

"Two more were just brought inside the dorm for the hidden ones."

"Their names?"

"The oldest would be Akutagawa Jirou, Yukimura Seiichi, Dan Taichi, Kiyomizu Umiko* and Echizen Ryoma."

"Five? That's more than the last time we had gathered the newborns together." Kunimitsu said to himself but spoke it loud enough for the others to hear it." He was one of the youngest in this family. Only be born 300 years ago. Keigo was the oldest of them, followed by Genichirou and Syusuke. Keigo nodded and waved with his hand, dismissed both of the researchers before he heard the brunette mumble more words of surprise.

"It's even more than the last three times I have helped to gather them together. The humans get more and more dangerous and braver. Maybe we should show them a little surprise?"

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah..." Keigo watched the stubborn newborn and laughed when the called angel shook his head and stumped along the bridge with his heavy wings shuffled over the clean stones. He would ask his faithful_ 'eyes'_ to watch the newborns. His father wouldn't like it any other way and he felt the same. Trust needed time to build, it wasn't the main problem but the newborns felt, reacted and spoke as if they still were humans. It would take hard training and punishment before Keigo would trust them at least a bit - before they started to think like they should be.

**_~~ 14. April, Early Midday ~~_**

"You want to give him the position? Why?" The king sat in his chair, his wife was on her way to the newborns - doing her greeting like every time the birth took place. She insisted on doing it - the king liked it not a single bit because she should be able to see the risk behind it but didn't. His own wife didn't listen to him and it made him angry as hell! The bookshelf behind him got cleaned by a female angel, her wings were colored in a lightly pink. She glanced over her shoulder a few times, happy to see two of the four princes. Her cheeks gleamed bright red by the wonderful sight. Syusuke was on one of his knees, just like Genichirou, and looked in his father's orbs.

"Because he want to be and I don't have any problem with it as I have enough to prepare for, for example the incoming lesson. It'll be hard for me to keep an eye on the five while teaching the other ones as well."

"So you consider yourself as too weak to accept the challenge of training and taking care of them?"

"No-"

"Then everything is said." He shouted, cut Genichirou off, left him no chance for taking the lead in this conversation. The maid squealed in shock and fear, let a book fall out of its shelf. Thankfully, nobody noticed. and she continued to with her duty. "You'll take care of the five newborns and decide about the time when they get together with the other newborns. Yanagi told me the total count lays by 56 newborns. I want my sons to take their tasks seriously and proudly!" He wouldn't give his sons the upper hand. His sons didn't move, hoped for maybe a change of mood and an acceptance of their plead.

It made him angry, furious to see his sons getting so low as to beg. "I'll not tolerate any other word. I chose you as their guardian because I know the effect Syusuke has on them or want them to have. I allow you to punish them but I'll _not _accept a death out of jealousy or rivalry! I have let it happen the last time but I won't accept it anymore. Did you understand? Do we have the same meaning?"

His screaming voice surprised the young maid anew and she let the precious vase drop to the floor. It landed with a loud sound, but remained as one piece. She breathed out her thanks for her luck and turned around to smile shyly at the princes and the king - maybe they had noticed it now - and froze instantly. All eyes lay on her, rage was clearly shown it them.


	5. A Not Existing Alliance

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

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><p><strong><em>~~ A Not Existing Alliance ~~<em>**

**_~~ 14. April, Late Midday ~~_**

The sun shone directly in his face, blinded him for a second but something helped him to cover his sensitive, golden orbs. To his misfortune, it were his own stupid, damned and hated wings! These... He groaned in frustration and pushed them back to the ground, forced them to stay put on the clean tiles with his bare foot. Sure, it hurt to touch them so roughly, but it was far better than looking at them every freaking time he moved. It annoyed the hell out of him! It was hard enough for him to accept the strange, new outfit of white silk. The pants, which fit him perfectly, and the suitable white T-shirt which lay loosely over his chest but was tied together with a silver, metallic belt around his waist. The pants ended at his knees and fell askew along his legs' outsides, caressed his skin whenever a breeze moved the silk. The other newborns in the dorm wore the same.

"I'm Dan Taichi desu. It's a pleasure to meet you!" The teen with the lightly green headband and black hair bowed and a star sparkled in his lightly brown eyes. Every pore of him bubbled from happiness and admiration. Ryoma didn't like him without having any further contact. Whoever found it funny to be here was on his black list, plainly too stupid to see the harsh truth. The newborn with white wings and a lightly green outline of each wing sat down and waited for the others to introduce themselves. Sadly, the others weren't so fond to do the same as he did. One teen slept in a sitting position with his head hanging down - he had lightly orange wings with a darker shade outlining them.

Seiichi had introduced himself at first and the only female newborn in this dorm had such a bad mood that even Ryoma wouldn't have dared to talked to her. Her blond hair was short, barely reached her neck, and her wings were colored in a dark blue color. No outlines or special signs, just like Ryoma's. Ryoma heard Dan clear his throat to get their attention once again. He sighed inside his mind and glared at the shy boy - Ryoma wouldn't call him anything else because Dan looked like a little boy who had just received a lollipop - with the green headband.

Said newborn stumbled back in surprise by receiving such an intensive gaze but spoke nonetheless. "What about you two? Don't you want to tell us your names since we'll see each other daily from now on?" His voice was gentle and he smiled shyly at both silent teens, expecting them to give in - at least the girl. He couldn't be any more wrong.

"I won't stay here any longer than needed." The girl hissed and folded her arms across her chest, leaning with her back against the chair. Her view had been directed out of the window for awhile now, straight at the midday sun. Ryoma was stunned because he would have been blind by now if he would stare in the sun for so long. Maybe it was just because he had such good eyesight?

"But, we can't go to the other newborns without permission. The guards had advised us so kindly not to break any rules." Dan pointed at the endless list with rules which hung right beside the glassy double door. "We'll get punish if we break any of them. It was kind enough for them to give us advices."

"Are you really such a naive idiot? No matter if you accept the rules or not, you'll be only a plaything for them. Being an angel is the worst nightmare anyone can have and I'm not going to accept myself as a masochistic, sadistic and horrible creature!"

"In other words, you want to escape from this dorm, this new world? And how do you want to do it?" Seiichi butt in and his incredible violet eyes glittered with unknown emotions. "I'm the only one who can fly from us five. I don't know Dan's or Akutagawa Jirou's plans for the future, however, if they want to escape, too, they're at least smart enough to understand that they need to learn to fly first. You'll never be able to fly with such a thought in mind and if Echizen Ryoma continues to torture and shred his precious wings, I have no doubt he'll be the first one of us to get punished."

Called newborn rolled his orbs and continued to stare outside from the window-sill. What if he got punished? It couldn't get worse than it already was. To his surprise the female newborn spoke up for him. "I think he's smart. He understands the whole meaning of escaping while he is still himself. Once we have learned to fly, we'll need to learn more and more and before we had even a chance to escape we have forgotten ourselves. Is that it what you want? Us forgetting our plan? You're just like those bastards called princes!"

The bluenette's jaw clenched painfully, emotions of hate and fright roared through his narrowed violet orbs. The female newborn intensified her gaze and watched Seiichi with a smirk. "I have no intention to stop you from your plan. I merely want to remember you of the cruelty an angel can set free. They'll tore your wings apart, leave your unmovable body in the middle of the market at the earth while nobody will help you after hearing your sins. Being an angel isn't the best choice, I agree, nevertheless, I would never go against it like you do, Kiyomizu Umiko."

"You can't stand them just like us; even so you are so eager to learn their rules and techniques. What is _your_ plan?" The bluenette glared at her and smirked after a long time of silence. The girl grew furious and wanted to slap the grin out of his face. Seiichi was faster, much faster. She had barely lifted her hand when he was already standing behind her, grabbed her wrist and stroke with his free hand over her right wing. She moaned against her will, her body melted.

"Talk like this with a grown up angel and you'll be send to your source of hate, to the king or the princes. I'm curious if you'll be able to bark like you do now even after you have seen them with your own eyes. Someone with your character should give up and accept the misfortune." Seiichi pushed her away, ignored her growl of anger and walked up to Ryoma, stopped an inch in front of him and cleared his throat. "Would you mind giving me a few minutes of your time?" The called newborn glanced up and frowned, didn't see the reason behind the question.

"If it is about these-" Ryoma pointed at his wings. "-then I have no reason to go with you. I like it when they're out of my sight and I wish them to stay like this." The young newborn had no time to react. His wrist was pulled forward roughly and he was forced off of the window-sill. He had a hard time balancing his weight as his wings hurt from his earlier ministration and were now sliding over the ground. As soon as they entered another room - Seiichi's bedroom - and the door closed behind them, the other teen faced him and spoke with honest eyes.

"I need your help." The bluish wings enveloped Ryoma completely, gave him a closer look at the silver outlines on each single feather. The wings were beautiful, he couldn't deny it. Still, he didn't wish to have his own pair - even if they were colored in his favorite color! "You could have such beautiful wings, too. If you accept your being, your present you, than they'll shine like my wings does. I once had the same feelings like you, never wanting to be an angel, never wanting to be as cruel and heartless as them but I have accepted my path soon." He paused.

"For now, there are only two way to survive this world - to die or to accept. Kiyomizu won't live long with her current strength but you have already survived through the pain of getting the thing out of your skin. You have the strength and stubbornness I need." The emerald-haired newborn waited for the bluenette to continue, listened carefully to his words. "I have a guess, a little hope, where an exit and entrance to the earth could be. A week after the newborns have entered this world, the lessons will take place, followed by a test which most of us won't survive but won't die either as we are immortal."

"Immortal?"

"Have you forgotten? Angels are not so easy to kill. Only the king and his family know how to do it. Nobody else. The punishment consists of embarrassing and bringing agony to the sinner, not death."

"And you need me how?"

"I help you gain control over your new body, so you'll have no problem to surpass the test, and bring you back home when the time is perfect. In favor for it, you'll help me getting a handful of angels-dust." Seiichi held out his right hand, waited for the other newborn to shake his outstretched hand. Ryoma narrowed his eyes, finding the offer too strange to accept. Something was strange, didn't fit into the picture. What exactly was angels-dust? It must be something rare if he wants only a handful of it - the emerald-haired teen thought and viewed at the still outstretched hand and the bluenette's face.

"Thanks, but no thanks. I think I'll manage to survive on my own. I'll find a way to get out of here, alive!" Ryoma stepped out of the wings' reach, touched them briefly with his own ones and left the room. He didn't managed to close the door because other angels were suddenly beside him, grabbed and pushed him face first against the wall, forced him to stay put. A sharp gasp escaped his mouth as the man pressed his wings together. Broad shoulders and long legs were visible through the dark violet bodysuit*. A pair of heavy, silver pauldrons lay on his shoulders and a white tunic covered his torso and upper arms, the ends of the tunic were cut like Ryoma's pants - askew. A heavy and silver belt held the tunic at the waist close to the body and a pair of silver splints decorated both muscular wrists. Ryoma hissed in pain when the hand tightened the grip on his left wing.

"Search for her and bring her to the king. She should pay for her misbehaviour!"

Seiichi seemed to receive the same treatment as a second guard held his bluish wings and pushed him forward. "Hey, not so rough. His left wing is already bleeding, you idiot! The king had told us not to hurt the newborns. I don't want to get spanked because of you!" Said the third guard to his colleague who held Ryoma. The grip lessened immediately and the two angels helped him up. "This one seems to have no control at all over his wings. Maybe we should bring him to-"

"There won't be any need for it. One of the princes, the one with short black hair, gave me the task to train him." Seiichi interrupted them formally and tried to bow but the hand on his wings stopped him halfway. The guards looked at him, then nodded. A fourth guard flew to them and went through the different rooms, one after another. The third guard helped him with the search for a person. The two angels returned quickly with empty hands.

"Has anybody left or entered this building?" The second guard asked and both of the newborns shook their heads. Their wings were free in a hurry. "We're searching for a runaway, a girl with lightly pink wings and a maid-outfit. If you want to help and get some credits from the royal family, you should call us instantly when you see her." Both newborns nodded and saw every guard leaving the dorm.

**_~~ 14. April, Afternoon ~~_**

The queen finished the greeting with the newborns, who had no problems with their arrival, and was ready to fly home when an older teen, around the age of 19, caught her eyes. He had dark emerald-colored hair and so were his wings which had a gold fringe. He memorized her at the other newborn who had clarified his hate and disgust through his word and emotional orbs.

It confused her. She would have scolded, mistaken him for the wrong newborn if she hadn't taken a closer glance at him. She would have mistaken him for the very young an ungrateful newborn. But it couldn't be, the wings had a different color and the feathers of a newborn wouldn't change so soon. The height was another point. The older version of the newborn was bigger and looked more masculine. Who was he?

The queen chose her words carefully as she wasn't allowed to make mistakes. She stepped to him and hazel eyes stared at her in admiration. The teen bowed deeply in front of her and waited for her word. "Can you fly, newborn?" She asked and the called newborn shook his head in sadness. "Then walk with one of my guards to the palace and keep me company through dinner." She turned on her heels, spread her wings and lifted her body into the air. Shaking footsteps followed her. The gossip and the rumours were already spreading around and a small smile played on her full lips.

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><p><strong>* To make it easier for you to see the clothes, take a look at <strong>Iason Mink's Outfit **from** Ai No Kusabi**. I'll take more outfits from the so called Blondies as I think they fit in this story. Only a few angels will wear other clothes, for example Fuji Syusuke, his outfit will be from the **OVA Saint Beast.

**I need to say that I haven't watched the OVA Saint Beast - I have seen a picture with a white-haired guy with unique clothes and shiny wings and that was all I needed to see - so my stories shouldn't have any connection with it.**


	6. Special Conversation

**Disclaimer: Do not own anything!**

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><p><strong><em>~~ Special Conversation ~~<em>**

**_~~ 17. April, Late Afternoon ~~_**

Ryoga nibbled on his bottom lips, played with his sweaty fingers. He was so nervous. The queen had invited him to din with her and probably with the rest of the royal family - he guessed and hoped so. One of the maids had guided him into a room - completely out of glass. Wherever he looked he saw glass. The floor was the only thing which he couldn't see through - it were white tiles with one big, golden symbol across the middle of the room. The family's crest, he suspected.

The newborn presumed it was the private dinning room of the royal family. The hall contained just a big table out of glass with the matching chairs. It was gorgeous, unbelievable stunning. Ryoga would have taken a glance out of the wall of glass - one high and large window - if the queen and one of her sons wouldn't have stayed and sat around him. The prince watched him, tried to estimate him. What reason for he had no idea. He was just happy to be able to get a chance to see them, at least one of the four princes and the queen. Ryoga couldn't believe how lucky he was, he would tell it every new friend of his right the minute he reach the dorm. He saw one of the princes with his own bare eyes! If the king would show up, too?

"I see the reason behind the invention, mother. Siblings?" , asked the prince with the purple hair, Atobe Keigo, these dark purple eyes never left him while he spoke to the queen. The woman didn't bother to answer, all she did was standing near the glassy wall, spreading her wings. They made a rustling sound and a small rain of glittery dust hovered out of the violet feathers and onto the ground, caught Ryoga's full attention. She giggled with a hand hiding her lips and turned on her heels, had noticed the reaction her dust had on the newborn. The queen smiled at him, however, it was not a friendly smile - the newborn found it creepy.

"Say, newborn, do you have siblings?" She asked him, narrowed her eyes to intensive her gaze. Ryoga could only nod, his orbs were focused on the dust - it glittered in a dark color and had the smell of something sweet and tart. What was it? Did it taste like he thought it would taste? He wanted to find out but it would be impolite to scrape the bit of dust together and put it into his mouth. Ryoma would have scolded him for such a thought. The older sibling smiled by the memory. His younger brother... he missed him.

He shook his head, forced such a thought back into the deepest corner of his mind because he would never see his Chibisuke again. It was sad and he felt bad for leaving his dear brother, nevertheless, he would have done it once more if he had the chance to choose again. Ryoga felt happy to be an angel, his new brothers and sisters were just as beautiful as he was and he had made friends with most of them after such a short time.

Still, it didn't change the fact that he wanted to hear his younger brother's voice. _No, stop!,_ he warned himself. He took a deep breath and answered the question before the queen would get angry. "Yes, Madam, a cute, younger brother. We look a little similar." The question, why she wanted to know about Ryoma, didn't cross his mind - he was too fixated on the glittery dust onto the white tiles once more. The woman turned around to face the outside anew, showed not the awaited reaction which Ryoga had hoped for - a praising or something like this.

"Thanks for the visit. You may eat up and return to your dorm. Start with your training tomorrow morning and train your body to surpass the following test but do not seek any help from your brothers and sister. I want you to practice alone and keep all the currently said words inside my palace. Everything we have spoken about will remain unknown to any other person who isn't a member of the royal family. Do you understand, newborn?"

Ryoga nodded, just then did he notice the food which stood in front of him. Human food and something unknown to him. He ate quietly and quickly, didn't want to appear ungrateful but didn't want to stay here longer than his legs could carry him. His spine began to itch and his wings grew heavy. The thought about his soft and large bed was comforting him to stay strong and keep his wings up. The newborn was too drawn into his thoughts as to note the absence of the prince.

**_~~ 17. April, Early Night ~~_**

He was slipping into his new pyjama – a pair of pants of grey silk, nothing more – when someone knocked at his door and entered his room. Ryoma didn't look up, didn't turn to see who had entered his room without his agreement. Why did someone knock if he/she entered without his agreement anyway? How stupid.

"They have already healed?" The voice sounded shocked, nearly surprised. So what if they had healed? His wings had probably healed while he had slept on his stomach which was luckily not a problem as he had slept like this many times. Ryoma sighed, recognized the voice and turned around, only to see Seiichi narrowing his eyes and scanning every part of his body in every possible angle. The frown on the bluenette's face deepened, nevertheless, it was soon replaced with an, to him, unknown expression. "Did you change your mind or why did you use dust to heal those wings which you despise so much?"

"My answer is still the same and will always remain the same." He ignored the confusing question. He didn't really understand the words of the other newborn. Since when could angels-dust heal wounds? Wasn't it used as money? Well, even if it wasn't, it didn't matter to him because he wouldn't need it at earth. His parents had enough money for the now three of them. Ryoga would never come back, like his Grandma…

Ryoma shook his head. No, now was not the time to think about his older brother. Ryoga would survive here; he had wanted to be an angel – always. His first priority would be to get out of here, nothing else. While he thought about his future, he threw his white daily clothes over the chair and run his hands through his messy hair. His room had never been so tidy like it was right at the moment. Well, what was to be expected? All he had was a clothed, a desk with a lamp on it and a chair, a bed and a little mirror. His clothes were limited of three white robes, the thing which he wore this morning, and two pyjamas.

The whole furniture was colored in warm colors like lightly brown or crème, not like the outsides where every wall was painted in white. It wasn't hard to understand the reason behind it. It were colors from the earth, his home. The newborn could only snort by these thoughts. No matter how hard they tried to make it more comfortable for the newborns, for him, he wouldn't hate them less. Never.

An echo of steps from his right side forced him to get out of his daydreams and pay attention to Seiichi. "Do you really want to end like the stupid maid?"

Ryoma narrowed his eyes, his ears sharpened by these words. The way the bluenette stood with his body leaned against the door frame and with his arms crossed over his chest – it was a picture of pure self-confidence. "What do you mean?"

"She had lost her wings after she had broken the precious vase. It was a present for the king and the queen from the king of the neighbour country. The royal family ripped her wings out and shoved her back on earth. She is probably still unconscious."

"Lucky girl." The younger newborn mumbled, received a gaze as if he was crazy. As if _he _was the idiotic one here! The bluenette's mouth was wide open, stunned by his words, and his eyes were wide, unfocused.

"You truly have no clue what's going on here and in what kind of situation you're in right now, have you?"

"I do. Some psychotic angels think they're able to turn me into one of their slaves which they aren't and never will be and if you would be so kind as to close the door after you have left, I want to sleep. Thanks." Ryoma pulled back the lightly blue covers, slipped beneath them and sighed in bliss. At least the bed was soft and comfortable. His eyes flew shut in the second his head hit the pillow. Finally, he could get some sleep. Still in his room, Seiichi was speechless by the careless attitude of this young teen. No matter what the guy had just told him, he really had no idea what he would get himself into if he would continue to act in such a way – especially in front of the royal family. The shock wore of, the anger of not taken seriously sank in.

"They abandoned her, let her fall down to earth without any help to comfort the landing. The humans won't touch or help her or any other fallen angel because they understand that it would be their own death!" He took a deep breath, sighed twice before he spoke once more. "And one more thing. The princes told me to bring you to them once again as soon as your wings are healed. I'll pick you up tomorrow morning and bring you to them, so be prepared and get up on time."

Ryoma shot him a piercing glare with the words -_ back off and leave me the hell alone!_ "I'll not go back to those freaks once more!"

"You have no other choice. I'll not risk my head for you and your stupid plans. If you would agree to help me, I could try to get you out of their interest."

"What is so special about their angels-dust and what exactly is it anyway?"

"Angels-dust is produced by angel, no matter how old, and can have several effects. I have heard rumours about prince Fuji Syusuke's angels-dust being the pure toxic. Another rumour says that his dust is pure bliss, like a good kind of drug. It shall be addicting like his beauty. No one knows the truth as the second part of the rumour says the people who had tasted it had pleaded to get a job as the servants of the royal family and succeeded."

"So you want to test it?"

"No, not Fuji Syusuke's dust. My curiosity stays by Atobe Keigo's and Sanada Genichirou's dust. Nothing, not even a rumour is telling me about their angel's dust and it's hard to get it from any of these two."

"Why? How do you produce it anyway?"

"The passion and desire in your body produces it. It doesn't need to be the passion of love. It can also be the passion to fight, to fly or anything you desire. The desire isn't limited at your body. Most angels create their dust at their first flight or fight with an elite guard. Excitement is also a factor for it."

"And you want me to get it for you because they have some cranky interest in my angel's form? I'm not suicidal. If it is true what you have told me so far, I will be dead before I even managed to get home." Ryoma snorted and turned to face the wall and not Seiichi's face. The said person sighed in annoyance and left, shut the door with a loud _bang_.

The guy was insane!

**_~~ 18. April, Morning ~~_**

Seiichi stood up to his words. The freak hadn't even knocked at his door before he barged into his room and dragged him out of the dorm to the royal family's palace. Ryoma was still in his pyjama pants, nothing else covered his naked body and his wings were heavy, grinded over the floor. He was sleepy, his brain wasn't working and his body reacted on instinct for now. The older newborn didn't use much effort to keep him in place as he had adjusted to his new self already while Ryoma was still struggling against it.

The door to the main hall was secured by many guards - the same ones who had barged into their dorm a few days ago - equipped with arrows and swords over their shoulders and around their waists. They watched the two carefully, nevertheless, didn't speak a word to them nor did they stopped them to walk inside. So the two newborns were already awaited.


	7. A Fatal Decision

**Disclaimer: Do not own anything!**

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><p><strong><em>~~ A Fatal Decision ~~<em>**

**_~~ 18. April, Morning ~~_**

A shy maid bowed down as a greeting and led them to the princes' room. Seiichi and the maid flew through the corridors, just a few inches above the ground. Ryoma walked like a human over the tiles. No chance that he would ever fly, at least not in a corridor where he had the chance to walk on his feet! The lightly blue - Ryoma couldn't believe there was actually another color than white here - double door came into their view and the emerald-haired newborn was immediately confused. He searched for it but couldn't find it. There was no doorknob on the door.

He scanned the door completely for a second time and got the same result. Ryoma rolled with his eyes and tse'ed when the maid flew higher till she reached the highest point of the door, knocked twice and opened it with one strong pull. She needed to move her wings faster due to the effort of opening one side of the heavy double door. Just for a mere second, only for a microscopic moment, she smiled at him and lost her fake face, her emotionless mask. Ryoma glared at her, which made gave her a shiver, and looked stubbornly away. He had no time to flirt and even less time to flirt with this kind of creature.

Seiichi pushed him forward into a large and open room, a room which Ryoma sadly recognized as the one where they had turned him into one of them. The door closed behind them without any sound. He heard the bluenette swallow hard and soundly. If it was out of fear or excitement, he couldn't tell. The second thing which the newborn noted was the emptiness and a bright grin fell upon his lips. There was nowhere an angel in sight.

The bluenette had noticed it, too, and flew a bit into the room, glancing around and listened to any kind of sound or noise. Nothing. Ryoma's grin grew and he turned around, walking back to the door to return to the dorm. It wasn't exactly like he had planned because the thing didn't move a single centimetre. The younger newborn pushed and pulled but it was always the same result. This shitty thing didn't open nor did it move an inch! Ryoma groaned in annoyance. The maid had locked them up!

"Seemed they know your way of thinking and didn't want you to run away." Seiichi's voice was cold and sent him goose bump crawling up his skin. The truth about the bluenette being more likely an angel than human saddened him because they would have made a great team to help each other out of here. Sadly, the guy wanted to be one of them. Ryoma missed his family, especially his mother and Karupin, his sweet cat. Right then did the words sank in and rage rose up, boiled inside his guts. He followed the bluenette with heavy steps, stomping out of rage, and stopped near a long, black sofa which filled half of the room. Seiichi turned around, still hovering in the air and swinging his wings to keep his body in the air.

His own silver wings had been nice for now as they hadn't moved on their own. That was till now because as soon as Ryoma watched the other newborn flying his stupid wings began to copy the movements. Ryoma's rage rose with each swing of those silver wings. He felt like a caged bird!

"I'm not some damn pet! I'm a human being!"

"Wrong, you're an angel, a newborn to be correct." The strict voice rang in his ears. Ryoma had heard it before and recognized the sound as Tezuka Kunimitsu's voice, one of the four princes. The two newborns searched for the source of voice and found the prince on the outside – he didn't see it as a real balcony because only a wall out of glass with a big hole on one place separated it from the insides - with three other people in tow. All four princes fluttered down onto the balcony and inside their living room, cornered both newborns.

Fuji took place on the giant couch and watched them from afar; Sanada undressed himself from his wine-red robe, the heavy pauldrons on his shoulders and the tight metallic belt and gave his lovers and the newborns a good view at his muscular body through the black bodysuit. Ryoma glanced at everybody, noticed Seiichi's lingering view and rolled with his eyes. The guy was simply dense or plainly blind to not notice the trick behind the behaviour.

The smaller brunette watched their reactions carefully, stared at them with his sky-blue eyes. The purple-haired prince stared at them from his position against the mirror, the other brunette put some books, which had been under his arms all the time, back into its shelf, surely watching them from the corner of his honey-colored eyes. The only question left in Ryoma's mind was why they wanted to see their reaction at seeing a half-naked angel, a male nonetheless.

"Why are you here?" Ryoma didn't stop to glare at them and didn't answer the question. Seiichi had stopped to gaze at Sanada, finally remembering his manners and bowed deeply.

"Pardon my bad manner, your highnesses. I have done as you have ordered me."

"They have already healed?" And with these words Ryoma had all the unwanted attention on him. They had surprised expression on their faces and Atobe dared to approach him. He took a step back whenever Atobe made a step forward. The curiosity in those eyes was creepy and couldn't mean anything good or painless. The bluenette glanced to him and signalled him to stop acting like a squirt and give in. _Never! _Was all Ryoma thought and continued to backwards till he had reached the end of the room and bumped at the wall out of glass.

"Thanks, Yukimiura. You may go back to your room now." Sanada glanced to the bluenette and dismissed him with a swing of his left hand. The black-haired angel turned around and focused on the other stubborn newborn again. Ryoma saw Seiich's hesitate before he bowed once more, excused himself and left. It was unfair that the damn door opened _now_ after he had tried to unclose it!

All of a sudden, everyone narrowed their eyes dangerously. It wasn't only Atobe who approached him. The two mountains of an angel, Sanada and Tezuka, stomped to him without any feelings reflected in their faces. So he had done something to disturb their calmness? The youngest newborn glared at them. He had managed to truly anger an angel, a prince to top it. Whatever they would do with him he would never give in and show them who he was! "Newborn, com-"

"I have a name, you monkey!" Atobe froze, seemed to be confused by the disrespectful name. Ryoma used the chance of carelessness and slipped through the open space between the walls of glass. The fresh wind hit his body, his wings moved automatically and pain fogged his brain. These stupid wings wanted to fly, he could feel it. It was a strange feeling, a desire he didn't want to have.

The desire to fly stopped to linger him as soon as he took a look at all the guards flying through the bright sky and also a few women with unfamiliar dresses were flying up and down. God damn it! How many of those freaks were alive? How many angels existed here?

"You don't need to be scared as long as you do like we tell you." Sanada's voice should have been soothing but it caused Ryoma's hair on the neck to stand up. It sounded so wrong, everything else than friendly and soothing.

"Disgusted would be a better word than scared."

"Your wings show us something different. You wanted to fly just a minute ago but after you have seen all of our guards and maids you're scared." A rustle and the black glittery display caught his attention for a second – a second which his foes used to catch him. Sanada grabbed his arms from the front and pressed them at his body - he was defenceless, the trashing didn't work. It caused the grip to tighten painfully. Tezuka flew around him, took a good look and examined the silver wings.

Fuji was the only one who didn't do anything. He sat there on his seat and stared at them. The eyes were closed and the frown was deep, nevertheless, the youngest newborn saw the lack of attention. The smaller brunette wasn't actually listening anymore; he was deep in thoughts or dreaming. Ryoma's sight got blocked by a masculine but even body which was covered dressed in a white bodysuit and a golden robe over the torso.

They pulled him, more likely carried him, inside again and with a swift movement with the hand from the purple-haired male, the wall was completely shut. He was caged and only now did Ryoma smell the scent of wind and freedom, flowers and salt. It was soothing, calming his senses against his will. A warm hand touched his lightly swinging wings, first the tip of each one, than slowly wandering southwards. His senses were completely numbed, also his muscles began to relax. His head was slightly fogged, too.

The grip around his arms loosened up and the gentle hand, which held his wrist, guided him further inside the room against his will. Just then Ryoma saw Fuji standing by a door, holding it open. The scent was probably coming out of there and he would have bolted to the brunette to force him to shut out this stupid scent but his body wasn't standing under his control any longer. The three princes, who were around him, caressed and nursed his useless wings. "You haven't taken a bath or a shower to ease your muscles. Why?"

Maybe they thought he had calmed down enough for them to have a conversation with him. The newborn snorted in his thoughts. Even if his body was calm and relaxed, it didn't mean his mouth and brain were also entirely numb so he spitted out the words with all the steadily growing hate. "Why would I? I don't take things from murderer!"

He loved to bath, loved to listen to the quietness and the lightly splashing sound from the water. Nonetheless, he wouldn't use anything from the angels, at least as little as possible - those crazy bastards called guards had forced him to give them his clothes and shred them in front of his eyes!

"Your wings would probably heal even faster and if you would greet your new form with pride and acceptance it would have been already healed." Did this stupid monkey really think he could get him to accept his nightmare so easily with a few words of healing the chicken wings on his spine? Ryoma would thank him if he could simply get ride of them and let him go back to his family. Atobe continued with his speech and walked up in front of him, stared into heated eyes. "The skin between your body and your wings is still bloody and will get infected if you don't clean it right away."

Ryoma couldn't stop himself anymore. The guy was deaf, blind and ugly. Didn't they see his disgust for them and their kind? "If you haven't noticed it, I'm not interested in being an angel nor do I want to learn anything from you." The hand of none other than Tezuka spread his silver wings and brushed the feathers with his fingertips. A shiver crossed Ryoma's spine, unstoppable. The newborn turned his head around and glared into angry brown orbs.

"You have mistreated your wings again, haven't you?" What should he answer? It hadn't sounded like a question, more like a statement, so why answering if the guy knew the answer? "Some of your feathers are broken, damaged. Something like this wouldn't have happened if you would have treated them right or left them be." It wasn't the endless anger in those brown eyes which sent a jolt of fright through his veins, it was the emotionless voice and body language which made him confused, frightened and also furious. Angels were merciless and reckless.

His body grew cold; the morning sun couldn't share its warmth with him behind those thick walls of glasses. His body was itching, his feet were ready to bolt and jump out of any suitable opening, his mind needed true calmness. Something glittery, fell over his head, surrounded him entirely. Ryoma lifted his head to see the source of the bluish dust but two slim arms embraced him and pulled him against a warm chest. Blue wings were flattering behind the body. "You remember me of someone. The person was just like you, always against our race and doing everything to hinder his wings to show him the good sides of being an angel. Do you want to know who this person was?"

Ryoma wanted to reply with a flat _'No!'_ but he was smarter than that. He hid his face in the guy's chest and moved his purposely shivering hands up to return the hug. He could feel Fuji smiling brighter while he breathed the scent of his emerald-colored hair. A very seductive smell caressed Ryoma's nose, drugged him and made his body itchy. Seiichi was right. The blue-winged prince used the strange dust as a drug. He felt light headed.

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><p>Keigo sigh deeply in relief and flipped his hair. In times like this he was thankful for his lover's dust. It had helped them many times to calm other people or to make them craving the brunette's warmth. "So in the end he's just like any other newborn. Getting high and needy as soon as he gets in touch with your dust."<p>

"I like the way he is right now. An innocent newborn who feels a little bit lonely."

"You shouldn't use too much, nonetheless. You know the consequence if you use too much and the king doesn't wish to have a replay of the last year."

"We should let a maid clean him and send him back to the dorm. I need to take a look at the other newborns anyway." Genichirou offered and shot an apologetic view at his smallest lover. Syusuke stopped petting the newborn's backside and wanted to let go when one of the hands of the newborn hurriedly grabbed a handful of his blue feathers from his wings.

The brunette wanted to stop him, shove him away but it he had let his guard down. it was too late. The newborn ripped the handful of feathers out of their place. Syusuke couldn't stop the tears from escaping his now open eyes and the gasp of agony. Blood dropped onto the white tiles.

He could hold back the shriek; however, he fell onto his knees and threw the newborn across of the room against the door. Two of his lovers were by his side immediately, examined the damage of his beautiful wings. Keigo pulled the newborn onto his feet, held the wings up and flew to the balcony and outside to the end of the glassy floor. There was only a small wail where someone could barely lean on

"I hope you know the consequences for your action! Nobody has ever dared to hurt one of my brothers. I give you a last choice, newborn. Behave and accept your being as an angel with pride or take care of yourself and I'll let fall down right now!"

It was the first time he had heard some emotions, strong emotions in an angel's voice. Hate and hurt, he could hear pain out of the voice. And it was probably, hopefully, the last time he would hear it.


	8. A Flight With Surprising Results

**Disclaimer: Don't own anything!**

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><p><strong><em>~~ A Flight With Surprising Results ~~<em>**

**_~~ 18. April, Late Morning ~~_**

"Keigo! Wait a second." He couldn't. Keigo couldn't bear to hold this ugly newborn, who had dared to hurt one of his lovers, any longer! If he wouldn't punish him, the other angels would probably see them, the royal family, as weak as Syusuke's injuries were clearly visible. Genichirou approached him but he was too slow. The violet-winged angel glared at the newborn, gave him the last chance to change his mind but all he saw was the hate and the already fallen decision in those golden orbs – the newborn wanted him to let go.

"Keigo, think about the word which I have told you! No death out of jealousy or any other emotions!" Genichirou tried his best to stop him from fulfilling his desire to let the newborn fall and Keigo understood that his lover was right but his head was fogged by the rage and the worry. It was useless for Genichirou because he couldn't and didn't want to hear them. Without paying any further attention to his lover's words, he glared once more at the also glaring newborn, smirked and let go. A short scream of surprise escaped out of the lungs from the newborn and Keigo's smirk widen in satisfaction.

His stoic, black-haired lover reached him and lifted up, moved his wings, ready to jump after the fallen one as he was responsible for the newborn. Should anything happen to the newborn would he also get scolded by the king and the queen, not only the violet-winged angel. Keigo stopped him in the middle of his flight, held him down by his arm. "Keigo!"

"Nobody who hurts one of my lovers will leave without feeling the consequence for it! This newborn should have already learned his place! We don't need angels in our folk who would betray us!"

"That's true but not a single newborn is allowed to get kill before he or she had taken part at the test! And the test will be soon but not now! Keigo, you know he can't fly yet! He's falling and he'll die when he connects with the ground with such spe-" The two got interrupted by a shout below the balcony. Both angels frowned and looked down, saw the quick movement of a maid who managed to avoid the contact with the falling newborn.

The guards, maids and servants, every angel around the palace, was watching with curious eyes. They probably thought it was a lesson for the newborn, one of Genichirou's flying lessons and that this teen was probably one of the strong ones. However, Keigo didn't like the surprised and shocked expressions on his folks' faces. The worry and hesitance were clearly reflected in their voices. Something wasn't going like he had planned it.

One glance to the falling newborn explained the reactions. The newborn was truly falling, not even struggling to keep himself alive or to fly up once more. The teen had his eyes shut, his mouth slightly open to breathe the wild air in and out, the arms wide open to greet the wind. The arms held the wings down which swayed, due to the gravitation, upwards.

Syusuke and Kunimitsu joint them on the balcony and watched the scene. Keigo noticed the change of his smallest brother. Syusuke, who had his eyes shut most of the time, had them now open and viewed everything with narrowed blue orbs. "He isn't scared? Does he know that he'll die if he connects with the ground?" Syusuke sounded everything else than pleased. Keigo didn't need to look at him to see the rage and desire for revenge, the piercing blue eyes and the powerful aura were proof enough for it. Nevertheless, he was surprised, and so were his other two stoic lovers, when he heard Syusuke yell. "Guards! Catch this newborn and bring him back up, alive!"

The guards nodded immediately and two of them moved their glittery wings with one big swing up, before storming southwards like an eagle who wanted to catch his prey. They were fast, closing the distance between them and the falling one quickly. Keigo saw Syusuke smile and suppressed the shiver. The sadist had fully awakened, wanted and would take revenge, just like Keigo wanted to. Slowly and painfully, till Echizen Ryoma has understood his place.

"You both know that there is no chance for him to get killed right now, not before he had taken the test and failed. The king has forbidden it. There will be enough lost newborns, only a handful will survive the test."

"Why are you protecting him? Do you have some pity on him because yo-"

"No, but I'm responsible for him and every harm which happens to him will probably happen to me too as the king will punish me for his stupid behaviour!"

"Gen, to surpass the test he would need to know how to fly and control his wings. Furthermore, he would need to know who we are and what place he stands in. Echizen Ryoma will not survive and the perfect proof is just falling in front of us."

"Or maybe it isn't." Genichirou countered and pointed with one nod for his lovers to look down.

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><p>Ryoma enjoyed the wind, the freedom and the smell of fresh air. He was falling and little butterflies fluttered in his stomach. He was falling and it made him strangely excited. It felt good to fall, to know he would be back at home soon. Though, he hadn't thought it would take him so little to get his will. Well, better to not object against it. Ryoma was happy and smiled in relief. His joy was overwhelming, even with the knowledge that it would take time and effort to heal after the painful crash.<p>

The worst part was over, he wouldn't see those freaks anymore and being alone was one of his specialities. How would his parents react when they saw him standing in front of their door? And Karupin?

He noticed the change of wind too late, was too deep in his dreams. Just when a cold hand briefly touched his left arm and tried to grab it, did he snap out of it and open his eyes. Ryoma pulled his arm free, but the second angel above him reached out and grabbed his collar.

No! He wouldn't get stopped, not when he was so close to return to earth! With his decision fallen and the adrenalin rushing through his veins, Ryoma aimed with his foot at angel's stomach, who was flying above him, kicked twice before he turned around, facing the ground. The angel eluded Ryoma's foot right in time with one swift swing of his wings and put more distance between them.

Ryoma pushed his arms and legs together, increasing his speed of falling and left his wings trashing in the wind. At least he wanted to let them trashing around but as his dumb and stupid wings had been lately, they moved on their own.

It hurt and every swing gave him a wave of painful electricity through his muscles, nonetheless, it didn't bother him as long as they helped him to fasten up and quicken his way back. The guards shouted after him, tried to get a hold of him but his now moving wings hindered them to get too close to him.

He would admit it... It was incredible. He was so fast; he dashed across a line of thick clouds in seconds and was finally out of the princes' sight.

A high pitching whistle got carried by the wind, left him confused but also signalled him to fall faster – or was he flying? Didn't matter, as long as he would reach the earth and would be able to stay there, he would forgive these chicken wings on his spine for moving. His path continued to be straight down without any further meeting with an angel. The pain from the wings had lowered long ago to a steady drum of electricity needles. The _glittery_, silver wings moved in unisono and gave him the ability to fly southwards in an undefined speed.

Ryoma crossed cloud after cloud, flew directly through them to avoid getting in the sight of those annoying guards who were surely still behind him. It was a wonder they hadn't shot at him with all those weapons which he had seen by the angels in front of the palace entrance. After the fifth cloud, his lungs began to burn and the air grew thinner. It started to get troublesome to get the needed oxygen into his lungs. His eyes were already tearing from the amazing speed but his vision was still there – a little bit blurry from the tears, nevertheless, he was still able to see.

Yet, the hand from the right side surprised him. A white gloved hand grabbed after him, missed him barely but brushed his left wing. The clouds stole him the sight and made him unable to count the number of foes. Ryoma hear them talk in another language which hindered him to understand their next step. The hands disappeared all of a sudden, not like he minded, even if it was strange. Soon, he tore through the end of the cloud and got a great view at one guards plus one plus one and so on, till he reach the number seven. Ryoma smirked under his messy, emerald hair. Now he was sure he had nearly reached his goal, or at least the compass of their territory.

His brain was fully alerted. It was strange that nobody of them was trying to grab him anymore. The newborn glanced to his right and left, saw them clearly beside him, flying with less effort than he did. Something was going on and he didn't know what it was. They had planned something and Ryoma was probably flying straight into their trap without being able to elude it. He looked closer to the angel on his right side. The guy had white wings and white hair, only his eyes were orange.

Ryoma certainty faded as the angels around him began to smirk in confidence and shout something at each other, once again in the foreign language. It was then, that he saw the net right before him. It was held by two of the seven guards. "Shit!" He cursed and wanted to change his direction of his flight but….. How did he control his wings to move in another rhythm? To change the direction? God damn it!

As soon as he thought it, his wings began to struggle, moved not in synch any longer and for the first time he was scared of landing. Ryoma hadn't noticed his lack of control in the air. His wings had done everything on their own. Now he did note his lack of control and he didn't like it. The emerald-haired teen had no control over his body as it was trashing around with his silver wings, moving uncontrolled.

Everything was twirling around in circles, his spine began to ache and exhaustion kicked in after the rhythm was broken.

His breath grew faster and rapider, his golden eyes widen in panic. The scream escaped his lips out of surprise when two hands caught him harshly. He shook from the freezing wind; the coldness surrounded him like a hurricane. Someone touched his wings, briefly and without much fierce but it was enough for him to gasp at the intensive feeling. Ryoma couldn't suppress the strong shiver and the goose bumps all over his skin.

Those two guards pulled him up, till he couldn't stay awake any longer and the exhaustion overwhelmed him. He had never felt so exhausted like he did then. Had he used so much effort into falling? Or had he flown?

**_~~ 18. April, Early Midday ~~_**

Keigo nursed the injured, blue wing of his smallest lover who lay on the bed and had stepped into his trance to help the healing progress. Kunimitsu and Genichirou sat at the other end of the large bed and chatted with each other about the upcoming lessons for the newborns. The wounds would heal fast on Syusuke's skin; however, it would take some time for the feathers to grew anew.

Flying long routs in his current state was out of question. But this was the smallest problem right now. Keigo was more worried about the incoming rumours and gossips. He would send his spies out to find out the source of the future betrayal. One wrong word and the royal family, the whole folk of _Amaterasu, _were in danger. The royal family of the neighbour land was after _Amaterasu_ for a long time. If they heard and knew about Syusuke, who could poison anyone in seconds, was injured, they would probably convince some of the guards to change sides and attack them as soon as they had more fighters than the Atobe-family had.

The movement from two pairs of wings pulled him out of his thoughts and the purple-haired prince flew out onto the balcony to greet the guards. He smirked, satisfied by the sight of the exhausted and caught newborn. "Bring him to the prison of the palace and get in contact with Kirihara Akaya. He should teach the newborn a lesson for breaking out and betray his own race and folk. I have the feeling he will try it again as soon as he gets out once more."

"May I speak to you freely, my prince?" Keigo had already turned around and flown back to his brothers but the words of the guard stopped him. He faced him again, showed him his allowance to speak up with a simple nod. "My prince, I would never go against your words, it's just that the newborn began to fly in the middle of his fall. He seemed to enjoy it very much. By the time he had crossed the last ring of shelter, the field of clouds*, his wings had changed a little and _this_ was spreading all over his wings." Keigo needed to look twice at the outstretched hand. Better to say, at the thing in the outstretched hand.

Silver glitter, no, silver angels-dust was sticking at the guard's fingertips. How interesting. "Bring him to one of our guest rooms and order a few guards around and inside the room. Watch him with hawk's eyes and also increased the number of guards in front of the newborns' dorm."

_'So there is no chance for any newborn to replay such an action.'_ Keigo left his thoughts unsaid. He dismissed the guards and flew back inside, finally allowed to smirk. The three looked at him - Syusuke had woken up from his trance - and frowned or in the smaller brunette's case, smiled evilly.

"Is the newborn still alive or are you happy because he splattered in pieces onto the ground?"

"Oh, no. He survived." The purple-haired prince snipped with his fingers and the large windows blackened immediately. They still were able to look outside but outsiders weren't able to glance inside their room. Keigo began to undress. Kunimitsu smiled and followed suit, happy to have one of their times of bathing together.

"Then, why are you happy? Wasn't it you who wanted to see him dead so badly? Or at least hurt and helpless?" Genichirou sighed, nonetheless, undressed and helped Syusuke out of his more complicated-to-open clothes after he had finished.

"It seems every newborn has a part inside the body which yearns to be an angel."

"What do you mean?" Keigo held the door open, kissed each of his lovers on the cheek before he continued to tell them the current news about Echizen Ryoma and his flight. His mind was already planning the next trap. He would break the newborn completely, till he yielded and gave in - till he accepted his fate.


	9. Another Point Of View

**Disclaimer: Do not own anything.**

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><p><strong><em>~~ Another Point Of View ~~<em>**

**_~~ 18. April, Afternoon ~~_**

Ryoma could still feel it, everything. The easiness, the simple movement to fasten up and tear through the air and the feeling of his body itching from excitement. The rest of his adrenaline was still rushing in his veins. Nonetheless, his eyes were as heavy as stones and his muscles hurt with every try to move them. Even so, it didn't stop his mind to fly in circles. The fall - he couldn't bear to call it flight because it was a thing only angels did - had caused something to stir, to wake up and stay awake inside of him. He wanted to fall once more.

The newborn would never admit it out loud, but the fall had given him joy and a feeling of freedom. It had been so delightful; his stomach had tingled all the time as if little butterflies had hovered inside him. Ryoma had no idea what to call this feeling. Wonderful? Amazing? No, it was indescribable.

With all the silence around him, there was nothing to distract him from remembering the glory memory. He lay onto his stomach and rested on a hard bed which felt like a table, probably out of glass or colored in white. Only the breaths of the three guards, who surrounded him, gave him the sign that he wasn't alone. Somehow, they hadn't moved a single time. These three were rustling with their wings from time to time for no particular reason - at least, Ryoma couldn't find one. The newborn didn't know why, but the sound and the feeling of slight wind caressing his skin remembered him at the sky. His wings began to swing soon, too. Without his permission, of course. His wings moved in the same rhythm like the guards' and a few minutes later, he finally heard someone spreaking.

"He's ready. Tell Ryuzaki Sumire to come here." Someone left the room without walking at all. '_Right, they fly…'_ Ryoma thought when the door shut, just to open again seconds ago. A breeze of wind touched his body, signalled the newborn the presence of an angel. The person stopped right at his left side, certainly watching him. The sudden coldness overwhelmed his sensitive skin and he shuddered hard by the touch. The cold hand slid over his wings, calmed them, so they stopped moving and loosened up. Two pairs of hands steadied them before they could fall onto the floor. Sadly, against Ryoma's luck, his silver wings gave him a summing sensation because they liked to be touch.

"How is he?" It was the female angel called Ryuzaki Sumire who asked. Her voice sounded nice in Ryoma's ears, not so emotionless and strict. Her fingertips poked his spine and shoulders carefully, almost gently. Was she really an angel? "Give him a pillow for his head. Our newborn should feel welcomed and not rejected or treated like an animal. Weren't it the words of the queen?" His head got lifted before a pillow got put under it. He sighed thankfully. "See, nobody likes to rest his head onto a hard ground. Well, you called me to do what? What's wrong with this little one?"

"He's exhausted and sick. His human-side has brought him a fever."

"Still human? The second I saw my wings, I had abandoned everything which had to do with humans." She really was an angel. The words shattered the hope which Ryoma had felt minutes ago. He had pleaded that she could and would understand him. She had been nice and not cold to him. Nevertheless, angels had such behaviour. Every hope was pointless because nothing would change the reality. Angels were cruel, egoistical and fearful creatures which demanded absolute submission from the humans, from his race. Never would he accept himself as a full angel. Ryoma's heart ached, he swallowed hard and closed his eyes, tried to shut every voice out.

"Those disgusting creatures."

The first guard said and sorted. Anger rose in the newborn's gut by hearing such harsh words. He clenched his teeth.

"Yeah, they should already give up. It's stupid to go against the strongest race. Well, humans are dense and brainless creatures."

It was the second guard now. The newborn's hands fisted, his feathers began to spread apart. His small anger rose up drastically to rage.

"Well, every angel needs a different time to accept his new fate. But you're right, disgusting wouldn't be my choice of word but something along the line."

Hearing the words spoke by the female angel broke his self-control. He snapped his piercing, golden eyes open, glared at them. "You're the disgusting race! Your race adores psychopaths!" His words caused a pregnant silence, only his shaking wings gave a new sound of rustling. It sounded dangerous and like a warning. The second guard recovered first from Ryoma's outburst and opened his mouth to go against the newborn's words. However, Ryoma was faster and knew what the bastard wanted to say. "No feelings, killing like you want because you have the power and tormenting someone of your own race because he or she had done a mistake – there is no better way to describe a psychopath!"

"Hold it, young angel. You are from the same-" He interrupted her with a strong and steady voice which showed his rage-filled heart.

"I'm not an emotionless, psychopathically creature which got blinded by glittery wings and beautiful faces. And I don't want to be one, ever. I will not accept my fate, like everybody calls it!" His wings lifted up and spread widely – most of the rather small room was filled out by them. The angels jumped back with their wings carrying their weight and letting them land softly a few feet away from him.

"You're weak and as stupid as the humans. It was brainless to think you could fly away from us."

"You should accept it. It's the best thing which could have happened to you.

"It would have been better to lie down on earth unmovable and near death than lying here still alive." Tears wanted to stream out of his golden orbs. Why couldn't anybody understand him? He felt lonely and missed his old life.

"Really? Your wings had showed something different. Well, to be direct, the exact opposite of your words. They had shone brightly. The moment you began to fly, to move your wings freely, you enjoyed being an angel." Ryoma snorted by his words and closed his eyes to shut them out of his sight. The first guard spoke further. "You have also produce angels-dust. I had it on my fingertips after I briefly touched your wings. Soon we'll know what the laboratory has found out about the effect of it. The princes were pleased with you."

"I give a shit what those bastards think." Ryoma didn't want to talk any further. These angels were all liars, every single one of them. There was no way this could be true. He harsh slap across his butt was the punishment for his loose tongue. And it didn't stay by one slap.

**_~~ 18. April, Afternoon ~~_**

Seiichi was restless. He couldn't shake up the bad feeling which lingered in his bones and dug deeper with every minute. His hands stopped to clean the feathers of his left wing, when someone hammered against his door hard and loud. "Just a second, please." He grabbed the head of the shower, cleaned the rest of the soap out of his beautiful, shiny wings and pulled two towels out of the glassy shelf.

He put one towel around his waist, the other over his shoulders to dry his wet, blue hair. He swung his wings to get them dry, at least a bit, so he wouldn't wet the entire floor. The constant hammering hadn't stopped for a minute, so he hurried to open the door with only the towel around his waist. If it was a guard or any other kind of an angel, not a newborn, it would be better to answer it as soon as possible. Nobody wanted to see an angry angel or a raging prince which would bring heavy consequence. Seeing a furious king or queen would be even worse. The bluenette unlocked and un-shut the door just an inch to look at the intruder.

The bluenette hadn't had the chance to take a glance at the intruder as a small hand shoved him backwards and an angel entered his room. He was caught by surprise or he wouldn't have allowed the hand to connect with his right cheek. The sound of a slap rang in his ears. What had happened? Heat spread all over his right cheek and the blood colored it bright red. Seiichi was thankful for his good reflexes as the same hand tried to slap his left cheek. He dodged to the left, caught the hand with easiness and grabbed with his other hand one of the dark, blue wings which moved in the air, uncontrolled.

"It's your entire fault! If you hadn't -" The intruder's other hand hit against his chest because the person couldn't reach his face anymore. "- brought him to those freaks -" Another hit. "- he could be still himself and think straight!" Just then did Seiichi recognize the short, blond hair and the plain, dark blue wings which couldn't be from anyone other than Kiyomizu Umiko. Her whole attention rested on him, her eyes pierced him with strong emotions like hate and disgust. "Are you happy? Now, that he has changed his mind?"

Seiichi was overwhelmed by her words, not clearly understanding the meaning behind it, nor did he understand the reason for her visit. What or who had changed his mind? He caught the next flying fist right in time before it could connect with any part of his flawless body. The girl was one stubborn and dense newborn. He needed to get ride of her if he didn't want his plans to be destroyed. She would, without a doubt, get in his way sooner or later. The bluenette wasn't pleased about the rejection from Echizen Ryoma. His plan had been perfect.

The emerald-haired teen lived too deep in his own small world, believed too hard in what the humans had told him. He forgot to judge on his own. It was true; angels were strong, aggressive and brutal. Nevertheless, Seiichi had seen something which wasn't supposed to be seen at all. The moment had changed him and his point of view. Never had he seen such passionate and lovely behaviour between two angels.

First it only had been the sight of two angels kissing which had left him with his mouth wide open, stunned.  
>After a closer look, he had been shocked at the fact that both were actually males.<br>The sight of Tezuka Kunimitsu and Sanada Genichirou kissing passionately and touching each other gently had left him confused, frightened and clueless.

It had happened a few hours later after he had arrived. The two princes had brought another newborn into the dorm. Seiichi had found out later it had been Dan Taichi. The princes had been the only ones with the allowance to enter their dorm at night. The bluenette remembered everything clearly. His door had been left open because the skin between his wings and spine had been infected. Sanada had taken care of him, whispered cold but somehow soothing words to him.

The secret grew heavier with each day; the thought about using it to get what he wanted was plainly stupid. The royal family, especially the princes, would torture him for daring to threat an angel.

It had been this certain moment of sparkle in those dark, brown eyes which had caught his interest. He hadn't believed to see it in an angel's eyes. However, Sanada had proven him wrong. He still couldn't believe it was true as it seemed far too surreal. All the rumours weren't correct, not entirely. The stoic prince had a heart, a human side and Seiichi had seen it shining when he had been hurt. The bluenette had seen the sympathy. He was ashamed about his whining and crying through the time of changing. Weakness was something the angels did not tolerate.

The curses pulled him back into reality. His shock wore off and the second Umiko was distracted by her uncontrolled wings he tackled her and pushed her onto the ground. The bluenette grabbed the dark wings in his hand, stroke over the feathers to make her helpless. The girl groaned in annoyance when a shiver fluttered over her spine and goose bumps covered her skin. "Let me go." She hissed.

"No. Explain me what you mean."

"The other guy, Echizen Ryoma, you dragged him to those freaks and they managed to convince him!" She struggled, ripped her arms free, just for a second before Seiichi caught them anew. "I saw it, everything! He flew and used his wings as if it hadn't been his first flight! His wings had changed! They had glittered in the sun!"

"What?" Umiko ignored his surprised expression, hit his chest hard with her slim hands. Her hand was on its way to connect with his chest once again when Seiichi shoved her aside and stormed outside with a frown on his face. His heart was hammering hard and loud in his chest. Ryoma had accepted being an angel? So soon? The blue-haired newborn couldn't believe the stupid girl's words. Ryoma was too stubborn as to accept his fate so quickly.

Or maybe he had found out about another prince having actually a heart with kindness seeking deep inside? Perhaps there was still a chance for an alliance? He wanted Sanada's dust, wanted to take a closer look at it. And maybe he would get a chance to talk to this prince.

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><p>Kunimitsu had no expression on his face as he flew beside his black-haired lover along the corridors with a colorful vase in his right hand. The smell inside the abstractive and very colorful vase was the same as in their bathroom. It would make the newborn submit to them and loosened up his tense muscles. Every angel was weak against this certain ingredient mixed with a right amount of royal water.<p>

Keigo's angel-dust had such an effect and only powerful angels had managed to break it. The stoic duo decided to try it again, this time with a careful eye on the newborn's hands and feet. Keigo would go crazy if another one of his lovers would come back hurt by a newborn. At dinner, the two had decided to go together to Echizen Ryoma. Their other lovers hadn't said anything, even after they had noticed their silent conversation with their eyes. Kunimitsu had no doubt that his lovers knew about their plan and surely would follow them at a later time.

Both princes stopped in front of the door, let the guards open it before they flew inside the room where the newborn was sleeping. Genichirou dismissed the guards inside the room as soon as he had entered. He wanted to speak to the newborn in private. Maybe it would make him more comfortable and he would speak freely. Neither of the two would leave the newborn alone as long as he hadn't agreed to accept himself with all his heart and mind.

It was time to break through Echizen Ryoma's shell of humanity. In two days was the start of the test, followed by the training for the newborns. There was no more time to let the newborn behave as he wanted.


	10. Trapped In Between Them

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

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><p><strong><em>~~ Trapped In Between Them ~~<em>**

**_~~ 18. April, Afternoon ~~_**

It was silent. No sound and no movement existed. It was quiet and the room was entirely dark. Ryoma couldn't anything. However, he enjoyed the silence and was happy for being able to take a little nap. His wings were heavy, sore and hung over the edge of the too small bed. The feathers at the end of his wings touched the ground briefly, nevertheless, he could still feel the touch and got a chill from the coldness. His body had heated up. The newborn had still a fever which made him sensitive to any change of temperature. Something wet and jelly-like streamed out and over his wings and slid down slowly onto the cold tiles. The jelly-like liquid stuck his feathers together and turned them heavy. It felt disgusting and the skin on his spine got stretched due to the increasing heaviniss.

The newborn didn't want to know what is was. It smelled disgusting, felt ugly and hurt him - it couldn't mean anything good. All Ryoma wished for was a hot bath. At least, the guards had been nice enough to drag him into another room after they had finished the punishment. The newborn had been unconscious after a certain amount of pain and exhaustion. What angered him, though, was the loss of clothes. The guards had also undressed him completely and left him naked on the bed with his stomach on the mattress.

All Ryoma could see through the darkness was a small table on his left side. There was no blanket or pillow on the bed. It gave the bed the impression of the table where he had lay on awhile ago. Ryoma changed position - from the stomach to his right side - and regretted it as soon as his right wing got folded under his weight. A wave of pain hit him hard and he groaned and whimpered in discomfort. He would need to learn to find a comfortable position to sleep in or he would go crazy with always lying on his stomach. His head began to throb from the fever and it hurt to open his eyes so he let them shut.

It wasn't easy to fall asleep as the coldness would get in his way and kept him awake. Soon the goose bumps didn't even leave and the shivers stayed. He was freezing, tired and exhausted from the punishment and all the screaming. He wanted to sleep in his warm and welcoming bed at home on earth. He wanted to wake up from the nightmare. If Ryoga was dreaming in a warm and soft bed right now? Maybe he was practicing flying outside or talking to a sweet girl.

A bang of loneliness overwhelmed him, followed by sadness. He missed his cheesy, stupid, older brother. The past few days had showed him how important Ryoga was for him. And also how important his parents and Karupin were for him. His older brother would usually cheer him up when he was depressed or sad. Now, nobody would come and do so. The loneliness dawned to Ryoma, slowly and creepily. He missed his brother , even if he would never admit it out loud. By this thought, a smirk appeared on his face as an image of his teasing brother shone in front of his eyes.

It was a small memory. They had played a tennis match at the court behind their house. He had lost, like every game he had played with Ryoga. It had been the last match between them before Ryoga had noticed his changes and stopped to have time for him. If his brother hadn't turned into an angel, would he still play games against him? Ryoma snorted in his mind. Of course, his brother had loved to play tennis before those bastards had decided to take him from his family. They were lucky his brother was an idiot, though. How would have Ryoga handled a situation like his? Would he be strong enough to beat those princes and fly home?

The nostalgia disappeared as the door opened with one clacking sound. The door shut again but no steps were audible. Ryoma listened closer in hope the stranger was a very quiet walker. A rustle shattered his wish rapidly. No, the intruder was not a walker but an angel who flew. The newborn forced his orbs shut and pretended to be still unconscious. He prayed it wasn't the one who he had ripped the feathers out. The brown-haired angel with the blue feathers was the last angel he wanted to meet right now. It would be a very painful meeting, he knew. It wouldn't go well at all for him, not when he was already so weak and tired. "You have nothing to fear."

Ryoma sighed in relief. The voice told him it was someone other and not the scary blue-winged prince. But was it for the better or worse? The rustling sound echoed from the walls and Ryoma cursed under his gritted teeth as his own wings began to move in little swings. It was the same like before when the guards had moved their wings and managed to control his wings to copy their movements. He groaned in pain. The bridge of skin between his wings and his spine was on fire and tears welled up in his eyes, blurred his sight.

He fisted his hands, clenched them against his body. His lips stayed shut, he didn't want to make a single noise. Though, he couldn't stop the tears from streaming down his cheeks. Immediately, warm hands petted his dark hair and some grey flakes hovered down on him. One flake landed on his lips and the instinct to lick over his lips to get rid of the flake took over him before he could stop the impulse. It tasted bitter and he made a grimace. His whole body clenched together by the sore taste. However, the effect of it overwhelmed him with full force. His body turned numb seconds later, the pain faded slowly. All his muscles were numb, unmoveable like stones. What was happening here? It was hard to think, the touches and strokes irritated him and made his head swirl. Something was wrong. The pain shouldn't have faded so soon. "What have you done?" Ryoma asked and cursed at himself for sounding so weak.

"The effect of my dust is to numb every feeling in your body, pain included." Ryoma wanted to scream at the nameless and blurred guy but the familiar scent hit him hard enough to make him unable to speak. It was useless to move, his entire body wasn't reacting on his command anymore. Still, he fought against the incoming sleep. Now was not the time to fall asleep. Not yet. Not when two angels were standing next to him and told him soothing words in such a calming and relaxed voice. Something would happen soon. They had something in their sick minds to break him! He was certain of it!

"You're unable to beat it. It smells the same like the one you have experienced earlier but the effect is stronger than before. You, newborn, are not strong enough to beat it." The words hit him hard. It was exactly what he never wanted to hear from them. Ryoma didn't want to hear the truth, even if he knew it deep in his heart. Nonetheless, he never wanted to admit his helplessness and weak state. The angels weren't feared from the humans out of nothing. "Accept it. We'll not hurt you. Your dust is much too precious as that we would let go of you."

"Dluss...?" He lured like a drunk, his eyelids grew heavy. They hadn't lied to him. The effect was much stronger. The spoken words reached his ears, nevertheless, they all sounded weak and too quiet for him to hear. The headache was long gone, at least he couldn't feel it anymore, but he also couldn't focus. Something was blocking him to think.

"Yes, your dust. It has the effect t-" The words faded till he couldn't hear them any longer. His golden orb closed and his breathing calmed. Sleep was finally taking over him and a welcoming warmth embraced him. Ryoma moaned in delight and sunk into a heavy and deep sleep with a dream about his mother, father and his home on earth.

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><p>Seiichi stormed inside the main hall with only a towel around his waist. The careful and sharp orbs watched and looked after him with - could it be true? - lusting eyes. The bluenette didn't care, continued his way and flew past the maid who wanted to greet and guide him to the princes' room. It seemed as if he already had gotten their trust. Nobody stopped him to rush inside their beloved princes' bedroom. He knocked on the door three times, opened it, flew across it and inside the room. "Excuse me." He said in a louder voice so everybody inside would hear him.<p>

Dimmed light shone from the walls out of glassy and very beautiful formed lamps. They were shaped in an abstract and mystically form. Everything looked seductive in its light and welcomed him to come in and lay down on the extremely large canopy bed. To describe the room with one word – gorgeous. A cloud of warm fog caressed his legs and feet. The earlier neutral-looking room had changed into a romantic paradise for lovers. For a mere second he believed to have entered the wrong room but the thought disappeared as an angel with bright, blue eyes stared at him. "My, my. I never knew our newborns had such a great body. With such muscles it's no wonder you have such good control over your wings and body."

Fuji sat up from the bed, wings rustling dangerously and seductively. The smile - a smile of a prince - on the prince's face irritated him, made him nervous. The seductive beauty wore a dark wine-red, Chinese dress which showed his slim but well formed body. The dress reached barely over his knees and each side had a cut from his lower butt till his knees. It look perfect and suited him very well. The tight, black pants lay on the ground next to the bed.

The prince took place on the edge of the bed, his bare feet disappeared in the fog which lingered over the tiles. It was then that Seiichi noticed the wide and large curtain on the earlier empty windows. No light shone inside anymore. The whole wall was covered with a dark red curtain. Was it the room of _one _prince? It couldn't be any other way. Not a single pair of brothers would like to sleep together in one bed if such an atmosphere lingered around them. Something nagged on his brain, ready to get caught but the bluenette couldn't quite grab it. What was wrong here? "Like what you see?"

The new voice startled him, nevertheless, he didn't show it. _'Get yourself together, Seiichi!'_ He told himself mentally and took one deep breath to calm his overwrought nerves. Seiichi regretted it immediately. His head began to spin as soon as he breathed in, his muscles weakened and loosened up to jelly. He noted the open door which would lead him inside a large bathroom. Now he understood where the fog came from. Hot water filled a giant bathtub - or had filled.

"Yukimura, you shouldn't let your guard down," Fuji chuckled and laid down sideway along the bed with one hand holding his head up. Seiichi had no more doubt about the truth behind those rumours. If he would agree to Fuji Syusuke' s little game, Atobe Keigo would unmistakably harm him out of jealousy, just like the rumours told him. "somebody might take advantage of it."

**_~~ 18. April, Late Afternoon ~~_**

Ryoma woke up as the splashing sounds grew loud enough to be clearly audible, even in his deep slumber. His eyes fluttered open but water blurred his sight, so he forced his eyes to shut anew. He wanted to cover his eyes with his hands but something hindered him from doing so. It didn't took long for him to notice the heaviness in his muscles and the certain scent around him. A memory of two princes approaching him rushed in his brain and he understood slowly what might have happened. He frowned, struggled with his body to move but nothing happened.

Nothing moved, not even twitched. "Give it up. You'll only exhausted yourself more. It's useless to go against it." A gentle hand run over his spine and massaged his tense and itchy skin. It felt wonderful... nonetheless, the last thing he wanted right now was to enjoy the massage coming from an angel. He clenched his teeth, the only action he could do other than moving his head. The rest of his body was numb and unbelievable heavy. "We told you already. Not many angels had managed to fight it and you're still a newborn who hasn't accept his new form fully. Till then you're far too weak." Whoever had spoken first stood or sat directly behind him and out of sight.

The other one, he could only guess who it was. Even if the angel told him to give in, he wouldn't. He laughed mentally. How easy everything would be if he just accepted each word they told him. He would be the perfect puppet, just like they wanted him to be. No, he would never do them this favor. Never. Ryoma began to tightened his muscles and started to try them to move. His body shook with each try but not a single bit of pain reached him which was strange. He should feel pain and agony after the harsh beating from those guards. Another pair of hands appeared, though, this pair caressed his wings and Ryoma couldn't stop the moan to escape out of his lips.

Heat rushed to his cheeks. What an embarrassment. None of the two said anything, instead, they continued to move their hands and caressed his whole body till he was a moaning mess who felt ashamed to give such sounds. His wings fluttered briefly in excitement and caused him a shiver each time they connected ever so slightly with the princes' skin. He created a new color of not-so-healthy red. His entire face shone in it. It was so embarrassing, he could only close his eyes and hope nobody else saw or heard him making such strange sounds of enjoyment.

He, who hated angels and everything about them, wanted to be touched by them. His mind had lost him a while ago, his body had taken control and demanded more. It felt so good, god damn it! "You reacted exactly the same like the newborn we once had. He was the same like you, always going against us." There was a small pause and both pairs of hands stopped to touch him and were replaced by a warm, wet piece of cloth. The shampoo, which they put on his wings, smelled good and turned his wings into jelly, just like the reset of his body. One of them hummed as if he was thinking about something. Not a very pleasant sound. "It seems your wings are much more sensitive than his had been."

"Well, he is younger than him, too." A third voice interrupted them and inside Ryoma's sight came the queen. "Sleep well, Echizen Ryoma. The day after tomorrow will hopefully not be your last one."


	11. Exposed In Many Ways

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything!**

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><p><strong><em>~~ Exposed In Many Ways ~~<em>**

**_~~ 18. April, Early Night ~~_**

Fuji walked up to him, moved his hips playfully till he reached the bluenette. The angel stood on his toes so he would have the same height as Seiichi.

_'Stay calm and composed, Seiichi!'_ The bluenette told himself. He had a hard time to react and think clearly. The scent from the bathroom fogged his body and it confused him as he had never gotten in contact with such a mystical scent. What kind of drug was it?

A slender hand touched briefly his skin when he hadn't focused on the angel before him. Curious fingertips wandered from above the rim of the towel, which was around his waist, along his stomach and to his chest. The caresses on his naked body would have been tenderly if the blue eyes wouldn't have shown the lust and curiosity so brightly. Blue wings began to swing and rustle. The shiny blue wings glittered from the angels-dust which hovered down onto the floor with each swing. The prince had a very beautiful pair of wings, he admitted, and Seiichi could almost understand why every other newborn was drooling after him.

Shallow wind moved the dust over the ground and to the bluenette's feet. By the thought of Fuji's dust, the confusion cleared a bit and awareness jolted up in him. Fuji Syusuke's dust was poison, had already killed many innocent newborns! The recognition came too late, though. The brunette smirked, moved his wings with one powerful swing, swirled the dust up again and into Seiichi's face. The bluenette closed his eyes tightly to suppress any contact with the dust - a senseless human reaction.

The blow was stronger than expected and he lifted his hands to cover the last bit of clean skin on his face, however, the brunette swung his wings another time and caused Seiichi to stumble back a few steps who would have fallen on his butt if not a pair of hands had steadied him. "If our father would know about your doing, he would scold you again, Syu. You're lucky your dust is so precious for him." The called angel whispered something to the other which Seiichi couldn't hear.

He waited a couple a of second before opening his eyes, sensing the danger was probably over, and moving his hands down again. It was an understatement to say he was surprised by the gentle attitude between the two brothers. He hadn't thought they would handle each other like true brothers - more like rivals for the throne. Well, the room itself should have told him the truth as he didn't doubt his guess any longer. This room was used by at least two princes.

The hands disappeared from his body and past him flew the prince by blood, Atobe Keigo, in nothing more on than a golden and silky bathrobe. Seiichi felt the heat rising in his cheeks and tried his best not to stare at the half naked angel, a prince no less. Something was wrong with him, definitely. Since when was he so shy when looking at another person's - with the same gender - body?

Something tickled his nose and Seiichi sneezed loudly, feeling the heat increasing on his cheeks and coloring them in a glowing red. His sudden appearance was everything else than welcome and he felt very uncomfortable with only a towel covering his naked self. Atobe shot him an estimating gaze and Fuji narrow his eyes while grinning like a Cheshire cat. His stomach twisted and clenched together. Something felt wrong, his whole body screamed for a dash out of the room, away from the princes. Since he had entered this world, he had felt like he was on fire or needles, restless and scared. "Taste it."

Seiichi blinked twice, getting out of his thoughts. The brunette had shortened the distance between them once more, moved his index finger along Seiichi's cheek and striped something over the bluenette's lips. "Taste it." Came the command once again, but with more fierce this time.

His view swayed up and down at his body and it was then that Seiichi noticed his body being covered completely with bluish dust.

When he directed his violet orbs at Fuji for the nth time, the prince was standing right before him, caressing his right cheek. Atobe had finished putting some clothes on and joined his brother in the game, trapping the bluenette in between them. Atobe, who hadn't spoken a single word after leaving the bathroom and entering the bedroom, only held him in place, so he couldn't move away from the brunette, and watched his every move. "We're lucky to have gotten such a lovely and strong newborn. You'll be a good soldier in a few hundreds of years."

Fuji swung his wings and connected his with the tips of Seiichi's wings. The bluenette started to fear for his life. He hoped the prince by blood wouldn't hurt him because his brother got so close to him and approached him so openly. Suddenly, the hand in his neck shut every following thoughts out of his brain and let him froze. A shiver rushed over his spine by such an intensive contact. He had guessed angels were mean, cruel and emotionless. Why were they touching him so carelessly now?

No matter how hard he tried to think about any kind of bad reason for their movements, Seiichi couldn't find one. He had been careful enough to not expose himself and his intension. There was not a single thing which could or would discover him. Before anything other could trouble his already messy brain more, soft lips kissed his own and the hand on his cheek travelled up into his dark shoulder-long hair, rested there for the time being and put pressure on his head. His brain couldn't work clear, the kiss was too sudden. His body reacted out of instinct, so he closed his eyes and bend down to deepen the kiss.

Atobe's hand in his neck painted small circles on his skin. It was a second later when a scream pierced through the air from outside the room that Seiichi remembered he had actually Fuji's dust on his whole body and now also in his mouth thanks to the kiss. The dust should have taken effect on him a few minutes ago but hadn't. He began to struggle, broke the passionate kiss and stumble forwards as the purple-haired prince gave him a powerful push. The bluenette gasped, wondered when he had reached the bed before he fell onto it.

"A newborn lies in our bed. I haven't seen such a sight since…."

"...since _his_ phase as newborn?" The brunette ended the sentence and grinned. "I think it had started a little differently but… _he_ had reacted the same." There was a humming sound in Fuji's voice. Seiichi didn't like it. Who was _he_? "Interesting, don't you think, Kei? Two of the same kind but completely different at the same time. Even so, their reactions are quite similar in some situations."

"Very... I wonder if..." Both princes grinned and narrowed their eyes at him. Were they playing with him? Seiichi turned around and sat up but got pushed down onto the bed again by Fuji. Only now did he notice the missing feathers on one of the brunette's wing. Both princes noted his silent question but neither of them spoke at first. Atobe was the first to speak and even if the bluenette found it nice that he got an explanation, finally, he couldn't quite understand why.

"Your friend is very aggressive towards any contact with us."

"My friend?" It was a question directed at himself. He couldn't remember he had a friend here. Nevertheless, it didn't take long for him to understand their words. "Echizen Ryoma had..." The conclusion hit him hard and he gasped when every piece from Umiko's puzzle fell into its right place. The stupid girl hadn't been entirely right but hadn't lied either.

"Someone like him is not very welcome here and if he doesn't change his mind in the next few hours, he will not pass the test and suffer for the rest of his endless life till one of our foes kills him." Someone knocked onto the door, interrupted their conversation. The bluenette was thankful for it and wanted to take the opportunity to flee but he got hindered by Fuji once again. The brunette pinned him under him and nailed his hands beside his head, sitting on his hips.

The angel made him nervous. The way he moved his body, touched him and spoke to him in such a seductive way. It all made him itchy and increased the instinct to run away from here. His heart raced and sweat streamed out of his pores, his eyes were glassy. Something was wrong, he was sure now. As if he was drunk or got drugged. Without Seiichi's recognizing, Atobe left the room after he had talked with somebody. The screams had never stopped.

"The last time we had such a newborn is around 600 years ago." Fuji chuckled and closed the last bit of distance between them. "You and the other newborn resemble _him_ very much. _He_ had been very stubborn at the beginning too, nonetheless, he had been very talented as well. His dust was very precious, so the king told us to take care of him personally, just like he had ordered us to take care of you and the other newborn."

The brunette made a pause, watched his every move and especially his changing expressions. He continued, only whispering the following words. "He had been against everything we did or said. But from one moment to the other, one certain moment were all he could do was enjoy the good things about his new form, he started to respect us and actually fell in love with another angel, not a newborn."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"You have already produce angels-dust, haven't you?" He had, indeed. It had happened out of coincidence and only a few days ago. The question which stirred his attention was more about how the princes found out about it. He had been alone when it had happened. Seiichi didn't even need to speak the question as the prince answered it by reading out of his face.

"Hiding something is nearly impossible here, especially for newborns who act nice to get what they want, for example a very special dust." The smirk on Fuji's face told him, he was busted.

The screams from the outside had stopped.

* * *

><p>Pants and hitched breathes echoed from the walls of the large and glassy hall. His wings ached, his spine hurt and the exhaustion made it hard for him to stay awake. Every time Ryoma tried to close his eyes and take a pause, they hindered him from doing so by grabbing his wings roughly and massaging them gently afterwards. It was twisted but these bastards had found his weakness and they shamelessly use it to get him to study how to control his wings and body.<p>

These freaky princes with their emotionless faces. His hate and rage was fogged by the exhaustion. All he wanted was to close his eyes and take a nap. Ryoma was tired, his whole body ached from the practice to fly. A now familiar hand stroke his right wing from the tip to the bridge between skin and wing. Slow and sensual strokes explored thoroughly each feather and he couldn't help as to turn into jelly against his will.

The newborn hated it. He began to hate himself for liking the touch, for actually craving it! His explanation for this feeling would be easy: His wings were a part of an angel and would like to be touch by this race. Thank god, he was a human... At least he tried to tell himself such a lie. Belief was everything he had left as his pride had gotten a large rip a few hours ago.

Soft fingertips began to scratch under each feather, making it impossible for him to focus on anything else and a deep moan slip through his lips. Heat streamed into his cheeks and showed ever angel in the room his confusion and embarrassment. "You should feel honored and proud. Not a single newborn in your generation had received the honor to get trained by us, the princes, personally." The brunette with glasses said and continued to pet him.

Ryoma gritted his teeth, suppressed every further noise which roared up his throat. His golden orbs shot piercing lightings at the two princes. He hated them but couldn't do anything else than glaring at them because the exhaustion made it hard for him to do anything other. Cursing, yelling and shouting was useless. They didn't react on it.

The first thing Ryoma had done when he had woken up from his last blackout had been ignoring every command and word they spoke. The two had made it crystal clear whom of them was sitting on the longer string. Ryoma had lost the battle of pride and strength for his disappointment. They had taken him by his wings, stripped him and let him fall down the sky again and again till the humiliation was too big for him to bear. He had given in, only this time.

"Up!" The sharp command shoved him back to the present. The newborn lay there on the cold white tiles on his stomach with his wings never stopping to swing. It triggered his patience all the more. They would slap him hard every time he tried to touch - harm - his stupid wings and he couldn't stop the swings on his own. "I said up!" The black-haired prince rose his voice and Ryoma heard the noise of wings approaching him. God, he was tired! The least they could do is give him a break for a few minutes!

He didn't feel an inch of his body and the sweet dirtied his new cloth. It was unbelievable that he should not only learn their useless, dense, idiotically and for him unimportant rules, no, right now he had a flying lesson with clothes on that resembled the one of the princes. It had taken time for him to adjust to the skin-tight and white-colored body and the glittery, silver-colored robe over his shoulders and chest. They could see every curve and muscle of his body and it made him feel more than just uncomfortable.

Ryoma was pulled up roughly by his arms. He groaned in pain and exhaustion, not seeing the black dust around him as his eyes were barely open. The prince told him something about activating his muscles for his wings by moving something in his body and focusing on something other. The newborn didn't really listen, enjoying the sudden and very welcome calmness in him.

As he relaxed his hurting body and loosened his muscles, his view lay on the endless night sky filled with shiny stars. It looked even more beautiful than seeing it on earth and he couldn't stop staring at it. The stars were clear and not hidden behind clouds. Their light was brighter and warmer, giving him the feeling of freedom and space. No plane or any other thing cross his view, it was simply only the night sky.

The newborn didn't notice the silence till the grip around his arm pushed him on his feet before loosening. Soon another pair of gentle hands rested on his shoulders and pushed him forward till they reached the window, which opened with a snip from one of the princes, and entered the also large and glassy balcony. The guards bowed deeply before flying out of their sight. Ryoma didn't note it, the sky was too beautiful and took his whole attention away from his surroundings. Just the whisper beside his left ear shook him awake. "Flying in the night under the moon and skies is for every angel a pleasure. Why don't you try it?"

He was hypnotized by the beauty, forgot to think about the meaning behind those words. Try? Yeah, why shouldn't he try to feel the freedom too? Finger interwined with his and pulled him further to the edge of the balcony. The princes rose in the air and flew right in front of him, waiting for him to follow. It was the sight of their wings and the other guards around him which shoved him out of his illusion, thankfully.

"No! Come here!" The black-haired prince commanded as he hadn't even said anything. The brunette reached out for him, approached him. Ryoma stumbled back until his legs gave in and he fell onto his butt. Now both princes flew up to him and pulled him back to the edge of the balcony. Though, they stayed near him and waited for him to take the first step and start flying.

When he didn't make any attempt to move, both pulled at his hands and took advantage of his still confused self. Something was wrong with him. Ryoma couldn't feel any anger, nor could he feel his hate for them. Something was definitely wrong here. His muscles felt numb too.

"Gen, Mitsu." The voice behind him startled Ryoma and he made a step forward out of surprise while turning around to the source of noise, all the while getting out of the two princes' grip. The guy, Atobe Keigo, was standing directly behind him. He saw the two princes above him flying and also the purple-haired prince bending down to watch him falling.

He was falling, having tripped of the edge of the balcony.

The last thing he saw was Atobe talking to a girl before he throw her over the edge. She screamed, moved her hands wildly around her falling body. Somehow, her wings got knotted together and fastened her fall. She cried and as she fall past him he recognized her. The girl was Kiyomizu Umiko, screaming for her dear life.

As she fell unstoppable, a pair of familiar hands caught Ryoma and amber-colored eyes looked at him with surprise.


	12. The Truth Which Is A Lie

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

* * *

><p><strong><em>~~ The Truth Which Is A Lie ~~<em>**

**_~~ 18. April, Night ~~_**

A pair of familiar hands grabbed his outstretched arms, held him in the air and stopped him from falling. Ryoma's gaze went up to the angel, no, to the newborn, to his brother above him. He stared at his own reflection, just a bit older and more masculine. His dear brother was holding him with all his strength, both hands around the younger newborn's right wrist. His dark green wings glittered in the moonlight, the golden outlines on his wings sparkled and reflected the moonlight in a beautiful angle. Ryoga had never looked so mystically and gorgeous before. Ryoma was stunned by his change. "Chibisuke!"

Questions and all kinds of emotions rested there, but from all of them, happiness was the biggest and clearest to be seen. "Fly! Move your wings!" Ryoma's own happiness faded rapidly. He had hoped to hear different words. Something like _'It's good to see again'_ or _'It's great to see you're doing fine.'_ at least something similar to those sentences. Now, all his dear brother wanted from him was to move those stupid wings and fly with him. Had Ryoga already forgotten his little brother's hate against angels?

"Focus on your wings and move them like you move your legs." For a moment, Ryoma's expression changed from confusion, to anger, to disgust and back to confusion. He opened his mouth to snap at Ryoga but his brother was faster. "C'mon, move! I can't hold you much longer, Chibisuke!"

Both of their hands were sweaty, indeed. Ryoga wouldn't be able to hold him up much longer, nevertheless, he had no intention to fly. It wasn't because he didn't know how to do it. Well, he wouldn't fly so perfectly like his brother and would probably land on his butt sooner or later, but he had a clue what to do. All thanks to the unwilling practice a few moments ago. However, he would never use it if there was a possibility to escape and avoid this option.

Ryoma didn't believe it was pure coincidence. He was falling once again, had received a new chance to escape. He would reach the earth this time without getting hindered. There was no way he would play guinea pig for the princes, neither would he end up as toy. Here were enough angels who could give them their strange dust. But they would certainly not get it from him!

"Move. Your. Wings." Ryoga panted hard out of exhaustion and clouded breaths escaped his open mouth. Ryoma couldn't do other as to admire his brother, even if he was an idiot right now, being able to fly so perfectly after such a short time was impressive. He understood and could see the hard practice behind the ability to fly. He also had experienced the meaning of such a hard training just a couple of minutes ago. "Hurry, little brother." The older newborn looked him directly in his eyes, smiled sheepishly and joyfully.

As soon as Ryoma saw the delighted expression on his older brother's face, all anger faded because he only understood then how much he had missed these sparkling golden orbs. Ryoga had always looked so happy and delightful after a tennis match between them. Most of the time, it had ended in a drawn. He missed those times and would miss them in the future too. Nonetheless, he would sacrifice nearly everything if it brought him out of here and returned him to his parents. He wanted to go home.

"Hurry!" The word startled him and shook him up anew, out of the old memories. For a brief second, Ryoma moved his wings, flew with his brother in the air. Sadly, his mind and a certain memory of his grandmother stopped every movement and thought. Something was changing inside him. Ryoma felt it with every swing and it made him angry at himself. His body betrayed him.

He had felt the desire to fly across the night sky and under the countless stars. A desire which only an angel could fulfil and he wasn't and would never be one. His stubbornness suppressed his now new and natural reactions. No, he would never forgive those bastards, this race, for killing his beloved grandmother who had been the nicest and most kindest person ever. It had showed him the cruel and harsh behaviour. Ryoma had no interest in living in such a horrible world where coldness and absolute loyalty for the royal family was asked. "No! I don't want to!"

"W-What?" His brother had a hard time speaking and still holding them in the air. Ryoga grabbed his wrist again after sliding off, hoping to get a better hold of him. "Stop kidding and move your wings or we'll both fall because I'll not let go of your hand!"

"I want to go home, so let me fall!"

"I don't know how you got here and I would like to ask you some question but not here. Calm down and focus on your wings. It's like moving your legs." Ryoma snorted when the explanation was spoken for a second time as if he was too dense to have understood it at the first time his brother had told him. He already knew it - maybe not the part about focusing on his wings and moving them like his legs, he had probably missed that one earlier but it didn't matter now anyway. He didn't want to fly, he wanted to fall.

"Let go. You know my point of view and how I think about your new family and everyone else here! Let go! I want you to let go!"

"Stop fooling around and get your brain working! We're still brothers and if you haven't noticed, you're an angel, a newborn, just like me! This place and the people here are your new family and home as well. They can be nice too if you give them a chance." The younger newborn snorted and shook his head with a grimace which told and showed Ryoga his disagreement. The newborns began to shiver from the change of temperature and also from the exertion of force. "Let's talk about it when we have a steady ground onto our feet!"

"No!"

"Don't be so stubborn, idiot! I'll not let go! Do you want to fill my life with broken bones as well?"

"I don't wish to live here. I never had and if you would let go of me, it could fulfil my and your wish."

"My wish is not to live in guilt of leaving my younger brother alone and let him hurt himself till he falls in a coma! You don't want to live here because you don't know the truth about angels."

"You're the one who is blinded by their beauty and magic. Have you forgotten what had happened with Grandma?" He had never told Ryoga his reason for the hate. Now it had escaped his lips so easily without much thinking.

"What?"

"They killed her right in front of our eyes. They stabbed her with a sword through her heart! I don't want to belong to a race which kills their own members without reason!"

"Oh god..." Ryoga's face turned white and his hands got sweatier all of a sudden, slid a couple of centimeters down. Ryoma gasped out of surprise. "She really had... No, Ryoma, no. She wasn't killed. Never! That was a lie all along. She wasn't in her right mind any longer, Ryoma. She had caught a bad disease which made her brain _fuzzy._ Grandma is still alive, she had received punishment, not death, and lives here in the centre, in the rehabilitation centre to be exact because she still has the disease."

Ryoma couldn't speak, only feel how every color drained from his face and sudden coldness crept up his skin and inside his bones. He couldn't believe his ears. Didn't want to believe his brother.

Said brother sighed deeply and huffed by the upcoming loss of strength. "Grandma had received punishment because she manipulated our parents and told them to stop your transformation into an angel. Nobody is allow to hide a newborn but her dust is too important so they keep her alive. She isn't healthy yet, believe me. I came from visiting her when I saw you falling."

So his reason for hating those angels was a lie?  
>All the time?<br>Always?

Never the truth?

An entire piece of his heart was a lie. His sweet grandmother... she was... no, it couldn't be. No! He denied any other description of his grandmother than nice and helpful. His dear grandmother would have let him decide on his own what he wanted. And if he had wanted to be an angel, his grandmother would have let him. He had seen sadness and grief when he had looked into her honey brown eyes for the last time before the angels had found and killed her. Nobody would have survived a stab like this right through the heart and another through the head.

_"Angels are not so easy to kill. Only the king and his family know how to do it. Nobody else. The punishment consists of embarrassing and bringing agony to the sinner, not death." _

Yukimura's words hunted his mind, replayed over and over again. Ryoma wanted to scream, let the frustration and pain out of him. It ate him up, the uncertainty and the confusion. Who could he trust if everyone was lying? He didn't believe his grandmother could do something so horrible. She had loved him, the whole family. She would have never done something like forcing him to stay human because she wanted to. She had always tolerated his wishes.

There was no reason why she should have done something like this. If it was the truth, why would his grandmother keep him away from her world? And there had never been a word about a disease which brings cracks into an angel's brain. Was his brother also lying to him? Had he fully turned into an angel and lied him straight into his face?

It didn't make any sense!

"Chibisuke, please, let's talk about it somewhere else, not here. I can't hold you much longer." His brother sounded distressed and panted hard. Ryoga's nails were digging into his skin around his wrist, trying desperately to hold him up and not letting go. However, Ryoma didn't want to talk, nor did he want to listen to Ryoga's words anymore. They simply couldn't be true.

Even if he stared into his brother's eyes, he couldn't see the certain sparkle which would tell him if his brother told the truth. Usually he saw it, but now there was nothing. "Let go!"

"Ryoma, please. Just move your wings an-"

"So your lovely family can _punish_ me too, just like Grandma?" He spit out the word _'punish'_ because he highly doubted it was just that. It could never be just a simple punishment, not after what he had seen and experienced what _punishment_ looked like for an angel. Forcing someone with touches and sweet words to accept himself was not the kind of punishment he would give someone who had despised the rules. There was simply no way his grandmother had just been punished! They must have killed her!

"They won't punish you. Acceptance is another things to pass the test which will be tomorrow. You're still in practice so they won't sa-"

"I ripped out a handful of blue feathers from the brown-haired guy with the feminine body! He was one of your precious princes!" His brother's face showed shock, panic and disbelief. Yeah, he had done something foolishness, nevertheless, Ryoma didn't regret it. He had never been cruel or violent but the angel hadn't deserved other. If they had just let him go and left him alone, nothing would have happened. All he wanted, wished, begged and pleaded for was to be free, to be left alone in peace and not always doubting if every spoken word was true or not.

It took Ryoga a few breathes before he spoke again. "What the...holy shit, you did what? How could do...?"

"Hey!" A voice interrupted their hot-headed chat and both turned their head to the source of noise. A guard flew to their right side, his wings were white. "You two, fly back to your dorm! You have nothing to do here!" Another guard flew up to them and watched them with hawk's eyes. The siblings noticed only then, they had reached the frontier. Many guards flew here and Ryoma was surprised to see little towers out of something which he couldn't describe. Each tower looked like one big, warm and fluffy cloud with five windows and a big door out of glass.

Ryoga tried to convince the guard that they were on their way up anyway, however, he hadn't calculated Ryoma's stubbornness in his plan. The younger newborn began to struggle out of his sweaty grip. "Ryoma stop it, please! I didn't know they told you such a lie!"

"You're a liar! The biggest from all of them!"

"Ryom-"

"No, stop lying! You're telling me my whole family forced me to hate and fear angels because my grandmother had gone nuts out of a disease? Is that what it all means? I hate angels because of a stupid lie?" The two didn't notice the upcoming number of angels around them who flew closer to them. "If your words are true, why didn't you told me? Just because I didn't react like other kids by seeing an angel doesn't mean I have no interest in them! Have you ever judged my wishes and choices, about what I want to do or like, out of my actions?"

"I had heard the truth just recently too. So you actually like angels? Since when? You had never shown any interest in them! When we were still children and saw the girl, who had lived next to our house, had been fetched by beautiful angels, you never actually did or said anything and it had happened before Grandma messed everything up! Why the sudden change of mind?"

"Grandma would have never hurt me. You have never really known her if you believe such a lie! And I never said I like them! I just-"

"-like the feeling to fly in the sky, right?" Ryoma snapped his head to the left, Ryoga followed suit and both stared into dark purple-colored eyes. Atobe flew only a couple of inches beside them with his arms crossed over his chest. "But you won't allow yourself to feel free because it would mean you accepted your new self as an angel and also the so called lie about your grandmother. Am I right, Echizen Ryoma?"

Ryoma could only stared at the prince. Since when had he been there? How much had he heard of their conversation? The second he opened his mouth to snap at him, Atobe continued to speak. "Don't deny your feelings. Your dust will prove your words as a lie. Do you remember what kind of effect your dust has?"

"I don't even want to know! I have nev-" He was interrupted again, though, it wasn't by Atobe's following words but from the glittery wings which all of a sudden shone brightly. The purple-colored feathers with the golden outline were stunning, reflected the moonlight and looked a shade darker. There hadn't been a time so far where Ryoma had seen such gorgeous wings. The light made them look fluffy and warm, perfect to sleep on.

"At our little experiment, it forced one of our investigators, who got in touch with it, to feel his true feelings or in some special cases, to feel the same like you when you had produced it. Inui had been overwhelmed by your feeling and fainted." He laughed, it sounded pressed and mean. "You felt happy and free when you had flown across the sky and everyone had seen those feelings in your flying self!"

"You should finally stop suppressing and denying your true feeling for your new home. You love to fly or you wouldn't have produced such precious dust in the first place." Sanada had approached them silently, flying next to his adoptive brother and in front of Ryoma who gritted his teeth and shouted. "Liar!"

Sanada sighed, frowned and, somehow, pulled a little glassy bottle out of his skin tight robe. "It's too sad that your dust doesn't have any effect on you." With that said, he turned the bottle around, so the content would come out, and blew it with his wings in Ryoma's and Ryoga's direction. "But it'll affect any other angel or newborn." Atobe smirked arrogantly while Sanada was an emotionless being and Ryoma was highly alerted by the sight. Forgotten was the fight between him and Ryoga.

"What?"

"Let's see how your brother will get along with your dust. He'll lose control over himself, probably." The purple-haired angel smirked wider and Ryoma couldn't help as to call this asshole the biggest bastard ever. He had never produced such a thing as dust. He couldn't remember seeing some glittery silver dust like he had just seen on his body or around him.

It took less than a second before Ryoga's wings began to flutter faster and faster as if he had gotten some kind of adrenaline rush. They moved far too quick to be in control. The younger newborn viewed from the wings to his brother's face and saw the widen orbs and the hard pants coming out of Ryoga's mouth. He didn't know what was happening and everything happened so fast, he reacted out of instinct.

Ryoga's figure shook violently and he moaned loudly when his wings gave in and he fell down, having no control over his dark green wings anymore. "Ryoga!" His brother's grip tightened painfully around his wrist and pulled them both down all along moaning in delight. The guards didn't matter and let them pass the frontier without making a fuss.

Ryoma came to the conclusion the princes must have stopped them and waited for him and his brother to fall till they reached the end. He would have loved to do them the favor but he wouldn't let his brother, who had been so happy after becoming an angel, die for his selfishness. Ryoma admitted, he was a stubborn and arrogant brother but he wasn't selfish enough to destroy his brother's chance to be a real angel if he wanted to. He still couldn't accept such a foolish wish but as long as Ryoga wouldn't come whining in his ears due to a destroyed dream, it was okay. The older reflection of himself was still his brother.

He heard fluttering sounds, something behind him moved, no, wings moved. An angel flew in their direction, approached them quickly as the movements became clearer and faster. He closed his eyes, waited for a hand to grab him and rip him away from his brother, nonetheless, it were the gasps which let him open his golden orbs again and tighten the grip around Ryoga's wrist.

The rustling sounds were still audible and Ryoma recognized only then the sound and the movement.

It were his own silver wings which moved. It was him who flew up while he still held his brother's hand. Ryoma was surprised and had no clue what he was doing. He wouldn't even care as long as he was able to bring his brother back up.

_"Family and friends are the most important thing for us humans."_ His father had told him after they had seen Ryoga's changes. _"Because without them, humans wouldn't be able to survive against the angels. As long as the connection stands, it doesn't matter which race the friend or family member comes from."_

It was hard and he moved higher inch after inch, focusing on his brother and himself till he reached the balcony from where he had fallen.

He broke down, trying to catch his breath and shook from the exhaustion. He was hungry and thirsty and tired.

"Wow..." Ryoga lay on his spine, panted and smiled, staring at him. His voice resounded with envy and disbelief. Was there still no time to rest? What was wrong this time?

His question were answered soon enough as Ryoga pointed behind him and said, "...your wings are amazing, Chibisuke. At first, I thought they hadn't outlines like mine but they do and they look incredible. So shiny..."


	13. An Unique Pair Of Wings

**Disclaimer: Do not own anything.**

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><p><strong><em>~~ An Unique Pair Of Wings ~~<em>**

**_~~ 18. April, Late Night ~~_**

Ryoma, still panting hard, glanced over his shoulders to his wings. The instant he saw the feathery things, he couldn't hold his breath and gasped. His wings... he had never seen something so gorgeous, so beautiful. He knew his mouth hang open and he was staring but he had lost every control over his face. They shone brightly in the color of silver or was it white? He couldn't tell as his wings sparkled from the moonlight, glittered so brightly that it was nearly blinding.

The pure and light color was unique, and so was the pattern all over his soft wings. Ryoma hadn't seen any angel so far who had such an amazing pattern on his or her wings. All of the other angels had an outline or outlines on each feather. Ryoma had not. No, he had one large pattern all across his wings. Golden and silver lines flourished to a stunning picture of one big curlicues. It looked mysterious and fantastic.

A hand appeared in his sight and Ryoma glanced up to see Tezuka in his full height, standing right before him. A sudden and unwilling realization overwhelmed him and it cost him all his willpower to suppress the blush coloring his cheek and ears. The expressionless angel was beautiful in his own way. Respect, self-control and loyalty represented his very being. "Welcome home, Ryoma."

Ryoma narrowed his eyes by those words. _Home _wasn't quite the right word. This place here wasn't his home. He may have unconsciously accepted his wings and maybe his new life too, nevertheless, it didn't make this place his new home. His home was and will always be the place by his true parents, no matter what they had done to him. _Had done..._ Something stirred inside his tired mind and he remembered the conversation with Ryoga a couple of minutes ago. His grandma, his manipulated parents and the so called illness which his sweet grandmother should have. He couldn't and didn't want to believe it till he had seen any proof.

"Ryoma..." The voice was weak from exhaustion and sleepiness. The called newborn looked at his older brother who was close to fall asleep but wore a wide and satisfied grin on his sweaty face. Familiar golden eyes watched him and Ryoma couldn't help as to smile while shaking his head playfully. The whole situation was weird and confusing with no end. He was happy to have at least one person here who could understand him a bit, even if it was just a little bit. "...since when are you so beautiful?"

The comment let him stare at his older brother, also his smile faded quickly. To say he was shocked was an understatement. He had never heard Ryoga saying a compliment about his looks or anything else about him. In their ordinary days, Ryoga would call him small, cute - he knew Ryoma hated it to be called that due to his small size - and other insensitive things but never had Ryoga called him beautiful or something similar. He had never gotten praised by Ryoga.

"The effect of your dust last longer than we thought." The younger newborn didn't view up, nor did he mind them at all. He simply ignored the now two angels who stood beside him. Atobe Keigo had joined his older brother and stood right in front of Ryoma, his face was also expressionless, though, something glimmered inside his purple eyes. Something which Ryoma couldn't quite catch and recognize.

Atobe knelt down, reached out with his right hand and wanted to touch his glittery and sparkling wings. It was just that Ryoma didn't want his wings to be touch by the prince, so he spread them widely and forced the diva to make at least two steps backwards. Ryoma smirked and pushed himself up into a sitting position. It was hard and his body disagreed at first but he managed it eventually, hearing Atobe scold him about his lack of control over his wings.

Ryoma's smirk widen, still not saying anything till the black-haired prince entered their one-sided conversation. "Keigo, take a closer look at him." Said prince stopped his little speech and watched the sitting newborn with narrowed eyes. Tezuka did the same, noticing first what his brother wanted them to see. Sanada spoke once again, after he had nodded in understanding to both brothers. "There is nothing for you to fear from us as you have past the lesson."

Ryoma decided to ignore Sanada's words, not ready accept the proposal of peace. Not yet, not when he still hadn't seen and talked to his grandmother. So he simply replied with, "Not everything which glitters or sparkles belongs to you." Someone laughed by his words and his gaze landed on his brother whose body shook from amusement and happiness. Ryoga was completely relaxed and happy, showing his delight with his laughers. This was why Ryoma had stopped his escape. "You own me something for this, Ryoga."

"Dream on." Ryoga quietened down, the laughers turned into small chuckles. "I helped you to show them your skills. Actually, you should thank me."

"I never wanted to be an angel because of..."

"Hmm..."

"Did you tell the truth? About Granny, I mean." Ryoma closed his eyes and let his wings grow numb and fall down beside him, landing on the hard, white tiles. Sleep wanted to take over, nonetheless, he forced his golden orbs to open once again and to focus on his surroundings. Now wasn't the time to sleep, not yet. He needed to find out the truth about his grandmother first. His sweet grandmother, was she really such a ... sick person? Had she abandoned him in her illness without a clear reason? A reason at all?

It bothered him and doubt nagged at his brain, left him no room to think about other things. He needed to know the truth or he would never be able to walk forward in his current situation. Looking from the bright side, Ryoma hoped his brother lied and there was actually a reason for his hate and despise. But what... how should he continue his current life if his brother hadn't lied and had told him the truth instead.

What if Ryoga had just forced him to open his eyes?

Could he really like his new form and the associated things with it?

Maybe it wasn't so bad to be an angel and he had just seen everything like he had wanted it to be - bad and cruel. Ryoma was overwhelmed and didn't know what to think anymore. There were so many _ifs_ in his head, it gave him a mild headache. Right at the moment, his older brother was the only one he trusted enough to speak with. If Ryoga lied... Ryoma didn't know what to do, now that he had accepted his new life unconsciously and had broken up his plans to escape. Ryoma furrowed his brows when quiet snores coming from his right side reached his ears. "Ryoga?"

One glance to his brother told him said person had fallen fast asleep while he was worried over his future. Ryoma groaned in annoyance. How could Ryoga fall asleep in the middle of their conversation? "Your brother told the truth." Sanada answered in his brother's stead and knelt down in front of him like Atobe had done it a few minutes ago. Ryoma's whole attention rested immediately on him, not trusting the brunette. Another person used the chance of his moment of abstraction, walked around him and, before Ryoma could reacted in any way, grabbed his wings and touched them lightly. He moaned out loud, too surprised to suppress or stop it and cursed at himself for it, again. "Hush, I'm merely looking if you have sprained anything so calm down and rest, you deserve it."

These words were like fantastic music in his ears. Sleep and rest was what he wanted and desired the most right now. Nonetheless, he couldn't do so, not before he had seen the proof of anything his brother had said. "I wanna see my grandma." Ryoma couldn't even understand his own spoken words as they rushed out of his mouth with a blurred accent due to his sleepiness and the good massage on his wings.

"We'll guide you to her if you promise us to stop rebelling. Someone with such unique wings like yours will have trouble to keep them safe." Ryoma wanted to ask what Sanada meant but the fluttering sound from an approaching angel left him swallow his question. The two pairs of hands, which pulled him up into a standing position, caused his vision to turn blurry. Ryoma shut his eyes forcefully and stumbled at bit from side to side, losing his balance the time being. Sanada and Tezuka steadied him, held him in place and kept him up as his legs wanted to give in. Atobe had never stopped massaging his wings. Ryoma had no strength anymore to do the same trick from earlier one more time. Also, the sensation coming from his wings due to the massage disturbed his concentration.

"What's going on here?" The strict and feminine voice surprised Ryoma and he would have liked to react like always, nevertheless, his condition had never been worse, so he stayed where he was, leaned his weight against both princes' hands and hoped they wouldn't do something to him. He was too tired and exhausted from the flight as to stay straight on his own two feet. He didn't bother to open his orbs, instead, listened at his brother's snores. Ryoga was worse than him if it was about being able to sleep everywhere.

"Mother." It was a synchronic greeting from the four princes and Ryoma noticed then the appearance of Fuji Syusuke who held a pair of clothes in his hands - a white, silky body with a dark violet tunic and some large metalic rings. The newborn recognized the clothes as the ones he wore right now, only in a different colors and in a bigger size.

It was Atobe's voice which pushed him away from staring at the brunette. "Kiyomizu Umiko had tried to break inside the palace, walking in like a human would do." It sounded scornful. "She had gotten caught by the guards and brought to me, screaming and shouting while I was in my room with Syusuke."

"What have you done to her? I can't see her here so where is she?" The queen asked and ignored Ryoma and Ryoga. Atobe glanced to the balcony and back to her. "Keigo!" She was angry as hell, Ryoma could tell by the hiss in her voice. "We had an agreement. No more unnecessary deaths."

"She had wanted to kill Echizen Ryoma and Yukimura Seiichi. Yanagi and Inui had confirmed my guess about her uselessness. She had no special ability, couldn't even hold her wings up for a second and would have never accepted her new self. Someone like her wouldn't have survived the test." This did catch Ryoma's attention. So they had known he would accept his new self sooner or later? They wouldn't have bothered if it wasn't the case. They had just said so. The question which circled in his head was _why_. Why did they need only the ones with good abilities. Why not try to teach those who are a little weaker something differently? Every human has its own worth wasn't it the same by angels?

"You'll tell your father about it and he will decide what to do next." Ryoma felt her gaze land on him and goose bumps covered his skin quickly. He didn't like the feeling of being watched or stared at. It got worse when she chuckled and approached him till she was only mere centimetres away from him. The newborn couldn't step aside or walk away because the two princes were holding him in place. Ryoma sw her expression change and he guessed it was due to her recognition about his new wings.

Her eyes grew wide, confusion and disbelief were reflected in them and she looked from Sanada to Tezuka and over to Atobe and Fuji. Something wasn't going as she planned because within the a short moment she narrowed her eyes and glared at Ryoma and then to Ryoga. "Mhm..." It was a simple sound, followed by a chuckle. There was no explanation behind this sound, no sign if it was good or bad.

Ryoma watched her carefully, feeling another pair of hands stroking his wings, petting them gently and stroking through each single feather. It wasn't the queen as she stood still beside him with one hand on her chin and the other around her own waist. Left only the smaller brunette to be the one. The queen waited for something, watched him getting turned into a puddle of jelly. One of them hit a certain point, which let him see little stars, continually. The moans slipped out of his mouth so easily, the blush was unstoppable. "This is truly unexpected. Maybe you can calm your dear father when you tell him the good news about our current fund."

She wanted to touch his wings but it seemed like they didn't want to be touched by her as they swung and dodged her just like they had done it with Atobe, only this time without the newborn's knowledge. She was caught off guard, her face showing her shock and displeasure. Ryoma wouldn't have noticed the movement of his wings if he hadn't seen it. He hadn't felt anything, no movement on his spine or pain on his shoulders. He felt absolutely nothing, only the wings' weight and the feeling of new muscles being connected with his spine told him about the feathery things being there.

He shook his head, snapped himself out of his trance and saw the queen fly away from them. He had missed something but would worry about it later. By the steadily growing sound of snores, Ryoma remembered his and Ryoga's earlier conversation and his still unanswered question. "I want to see my grandmother. And what do you meant with _'having a hard time to keep my wings safe.'_"

"If you survive the test in a few hours, we'll allow you to visit her as long as you want." His second question got ignored and Ryoma wanted to snap at the taller brunette. However, Atobe had read his mind before the newborn or any of his brothers could speak. "Do not argument against us. Your acceptance of your new life doesn't stop us from punishing you for the show of disrespect..." The purple-colored orbs glanced over to the snoring Ryoga, told him very clearly what kind of punishment it would be. "...in any thinkable way."

With that the princes let go of him - Ryoma was surprised he could stand on his own two feet - walked back inside the training room but waited for him at the _'door'_ to follow. Ryoma's attention rested on his brother who had been picked up by two guards and was now brought up to a room above him. There was one loud snore before Ryoga disappeared out of his sight. He inhaled and exhaled deeply, calming his mind and body. The happenings and the struggle from the last few days started to catch up. What had just happened?

He still couldn't believe he had just flown through the sky for the second time, saving his brother on top of it and hadn't snapped at the angels who had touched him... Oh god, he really hadn't stopped them at all!

A strike of fear let him bit his bottom lip. He was changing and it scared him the most because he couldn't tell if it was for the better or not. What would his dear grandmother say to him? What would she say when she saw him standing in front of her? Would she recognize him? Hug him like she had done it whenever she had visited him?

The newborn chewed his bottom lip, made a couple of steps forward to the end of the balcony and stared southwards. The moon lightened the place, nevertheless, he couldn't see the towers with the guards which he had seen earlier on his flight. Had he fallen so deep and flown so high back up?

"Ryoma, it's time for you to rest." The voice which gave him a shiver. Someone lay a hand over his eyes, closed them with the tender fingers. He tensed, awaited violence and forced submission, now that he was able to stand alone. His hands grabbed the hand which covered his eyes and wanted to rip it off of him. But he couldn't. There was no reason why he couldn't, he wanted to! His unwilling and uncontrolled body detained him from doing so! The person who covered his eyes told him the reason unconsciously. "Kunimitsu, it's enough. Your dust has already frozen his nervous system."

Ryoma's grip stayed around the wrist but loosened up. He hadn't had the strength to fight against them, not after the flight, not after so many days without peaceful sleep and the sudden confrontation that his whole hate against the angels could be a lie. He was exhausted like hell, had no more energy left to snap at them. He noticed too late that he was already pulled inside the room and along the corridor, flying with the help of the four princes. The hands pulling him never left him, and even if they did, Ryoma wouldn't have noted it.

Halfway, in the middle of flying across said corridor, he broke down, having not a single bit of strength left. He fell into a dreamless sleep, remembered hands carrying him and lying him onto a soft bed, covering him with a thick and warm blanket. Someone wished him a sweet dream and praised him for doing fine.

The door closed and the three newborns slept peacefully in the bed with the dark red sheets. Loud snores were the only sounds echoing inside the room. A certain bluenette changed position, pulling the smallest newborn closer and pulling him into a loosened hug.


	14. The Chaos Begins Now

**_Google - Picture -_**Search after: **_rankenmuster what a hoot_ **and you should be able to see**_ a green _**and**_ blue_**or **_orange picture with an identical pattern_**_._  
>That's the pattern on Ryoma's wings. Imagine it with a white background and goldensilver lines.

About the form of the wings which every angel has. I hope you can find it.  
><strong><em>Google - Picture -<em> **Search after: **_free extras angel wings 2270 _**and you should be able to see**_ a picture of a pair of white wings with a white background._**

**Disclaimer: Don't own anything.**

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><p><strong><em>~~ The Chaos Begins Now ~~<em>**

**_~~ 19. April, Early Morning ~~_**

The cool water calmed his heated skin and overloaded brain, washed the first layer of sweat and the sleepiness away. It felt good and refreshing. Ryoma lifted his head higher, opened his arms and spread his wings, let the water embrace his whole naked body and enjoyed the feeling of nothing wet sticking on his skin. He had thrown every piece of cloth into the nearest corner as soon as he had found and entered the bathroom. The cloth had been wet from his sweat, all thanks to the unbearable heat under the blanket.

Ryoma shook his head when the memory of a sleeping Yukimura, who had hugged him in his sleep from behind, appeared in front of his eyes. With the dark blue hair covering half of his face, the newborn had looked so much younger and so innocent. Nevertheless, this hadn't been the thing which had caught his attention. The moonlight had reflected something glittery on the pale skin.

It had looked magically, as if a sheet of little sapphires rested on his skin - irregularly and only on certain parts.

It was the first time Ryoma had used the word _beautiful_ to describe another person, a male on top of it.

However, he still didn't know how to react and feel after being so close to the bluenette. He would have pushed the other newborn away but the quick glance at Yukimura's bluish glittery face had stopped him, frozen him. Something hadn't been right, had hindered him from shoving the bluenette out of the bed and especially away from him. The reason? Ryoma guessed, no, he was quite sure it was the glitter's fault. This had distracted him and also the fact that the guy looked a little too much like a woman with those long eyelashes, the small nose and the small lips.

His heart was still racing from the closeness and the feeling of arms sneaking around his waist, shortening the distance between him and Yukimura. The first seconds before his mind had registered what was going on, Ryoma admitted, the feeling of being embraced had made his heart flutter from the warmth and relaxed his body. It had felt like the arms of his mother - secure and welcome - who had hugged him every time he had been mad or frightened. He wasn't a person who showed his feelings so often or so clearly, nor did he speak about his inner turmoil. Even so, his mother always had known his weak moments and had hugged him every time.

She had given him her whole attention, told him he was beloved with one single gesticulation and Ryoma was thankful for it.

It was the stress of his new and unwanted life, he told himself. His mind had played him a prank, so the true awakening of not his mother but a total stranger embracing him like that had been... he couldn't describe it with on word.

It had thrown him off of the rails. He had blushed furiously and had been confused till no end. Maybe the guy had mistaken him for his girlfriend? Ryoma hoped it was something like that. He didn't need a guy lusting after him, especially not someone like Yukimura. The first impression told him enough about the other newborn.

Ryoga's loud snores had brought him back to reality and gave him the strength to get out of his frozen state. He pushed and poked, finally struggling out of the embrace with one swift push with his feet. Yukimura had moaned by the loss of warmth and the sound increased Ryoma's already flushed cheeks. Never had he been so close to another person, expect his mother.

Still, it didn't explain why his heart was beating so fast by viewing at Yukimura's sleeping form. Maybe it was simply due to his early awakening? Or maybe it was the rest of the adrenaline rushing through his veins from the flight last night? Or perhaps it was the fact that the bluenette had been naked and had pressed his bare body against his sweaty clothed body, letting him feel very uncomfortable. Better not think about it or he would never get ride of the heat in his cheeks. It hadn't been his first time to hear such sounds, moans and pants. Ryoga played with girls like toys and had never cared if his little brother could hear him in the next room.

It had been one of those nights when he needed to study for an important incoming test and Ryoga had one of his _bunnies_ in his room to _play _once again_. _The sounds coming from next door had annoyed him so much that he told his parents about Ryoga's hobby. Their parents had been angry like hell and scolded Ryoga for his behavior while Ryoma had smirked proudly. His older brother had slapped and threatened him, ignored him for two months, nonetheless, it hadn't been the worst part of this memory. It had cost him three hours of his precious time where his parents had explained him everything very clearly about puberty and the incoming problems. That had been the hell!

Another wave of heat reached his cheeks and he turned the shower at the coldest temperature. Why was he remembering it now? Right now was not the time to think about anything else than his future, his meeting with his grandmother, the revelation of the truth. Ryoma slapped his red cheeks to wake up.

"I see you're already awake and found our private bathroom." Ryoma jolted up, twitched with his whole body from the sudden sound and turned on his heels, glaring at the intruder, scanning the bathroom.

It was large, the architect had surely a flavour for the antics of Greece and their gods and goddesses. The room was one big rectangle with no windows on the walls but had two entrances in the opposite directions. One large window spread all over the roof, would show him the night sky and the moon at night and the dawn in the early morning. In the centre of the room was one big pool which should be the bathtub, Ryoma guessed, and on the walls, the ones where the doors were, was a row of open shower-heads, three on each side. The distance between each shower-head was wide enough for an angel to spread his wings without disturbing anybody. Here and there were small lamps and bottles of shampoo.

No angel to be seen. He narrowed his golden eyes, his view wandered over the room for the second time. Still nobody visible. The bathroom was empty, only his own person being there. "I take it the other two newborns are still asleep."

Ryoma jolted up by the voice coming all too sudden from his left side and also by the sight of Sanada suddenly standing next to him. A hand pulled him out of the icy shower, turned it off while the other hand covered his lower half with a white towel. "Follow me. If you want to see your grandmother, we should hurry. The test will start soon." Was it only his imagine or had the angel just touched his right cheek, gently and with one swift movement? He was confused, shook his head.

Sanada walked forward and unlocked the other door, the one opposite of the room where he had slept in. Ryoma followed as he had no other choice anyway. The bare thought about his grandmother made it hard for him to swallow down the knot in his throat. He wanted to know the truth but also feared to hear it. What if it wasn't what he wanted it to be? What if it was something entirely different from what he had thought and dreamed of?

Ryoma shut his eyes by force to get ride of the scary cogitation and scanned the new room which he had entered after Sanada. He found himself standing in another bedroom. It looked similar to the bedroom where he had slept in, only the color showed the difference. The walls were painted in the color of the morning sky and not dark red. Not only the wall with a connection to the balcony consisted out of glass but also the roof was one big window - similar to the bathroom - and gave the sleeper a good view of the true sky in his full glory. It looked awesome and Ryoma tried his best to not look amaze. He didn't want to show any weakness, not in front of Sanada or his brothers.

Soon enough, a few pieces of clothes were shoved into his hands and he was pushed behind a room-divider. "Hurry up and get dressed. We'll wait on the balcony and bring you to your grandmother." The angel headed to the balcony and it was then that Ryoma noticed the other three princes who were already waiting there and greeted their brother with a kiss on the cheek.

The newborn blinked twice.

A kiss on the cheek to greet his brother?

He would never do such a thing. He shivered by the bare idea of kissing Ryoga on the cheek and shrugged it off, began to get dressed. It was a dark green, nearly black, bodysuit which ended at his knees and elbows. The dark cloth sat tight on his skin, made each of his muscles visible. The white tunic above the bodysuit covered his shoulders and the beginning of his upper arms, fell down his spine and ended barely under his butt. The other end of the white tunic fell over his chest in two stripes, one covering the right side, the other the left one, leaving the middle free in the shape of a diamond.

The outlines of the tunic were colored in the same color as the pattern on his wings. A white belt fastened the tunic around his waist and let the rest of the cloth fall over his manhood. Suitable to the outfit, he wore a pair of flat dark green shoes which resembled the suitable shoes of a Qipao*.

Why did the clothes fit him so well if none of the four seemed to have his size?

Ryoma bit onto his bottom lip, dared to look into the mirror which hung before him on the wall. He felt strange in those clothes. The bodysuit sat tightly on his skin, left no room for certain body parts. Nonetheless, he looked... good, he would dare to say. Strange and odd but kinda good. He shook his head for the nth time today to get ride of the appearing blush and took a couple of deep breaths before he stepped in front of the room-divider and across the room. The newborn used the chance to take one quick glance around the entire room, then walked out onto the now empty balcony.

Ryoma wanted to groan. Empty. The shitty balcony was god damn it empty!

Someone giggled above him and sounds of moving wings grew louder and clearer. He glared up, gazing at the missing angels. "Keigo was right. It fits you very well, especially the colors." Fuji flew to him, so he would be closer to his height. Nevertheless, his feet never touched the glassy ground. The brunette surrounded him, flew around him and - Ryoma knew he did it on purpose - touch his wings briefly. The blue eyes were wide open, pierced him with it's strong view and exposed a strange sparkle.

"Syusuke!" It was Tezuka's strict and fierce voice which brought an icy chill over Ryoma's spine. But it was the expression on the other three brothers' face which clenched his stomach together Oh, oh. "Ryoma, let's go. We don't have much time." And without another word the four swung their wings and flew forward, left him behind. He was speechless, not knowing what to do or how to react. Flying? Right now he didn't want to fly, his wings didn't want it either. They simply did not move an inch.

"Nervous about finding out the truth?" There he was again - Fuji. The smiling angel reached out to him with his right hand, ready to offer him help. This gesture was already confusing enough as nobody had offered him help the last couple of days. Why now? "Relax, don't think and listen to our movements, our wings." It happened too sudden, too fast, he had no chance to react. A hand slid over his orbs and turned his world into darkness. Ryoma tensed as he felt Fuji's breath over his face. It smelled fruity and very spicy. "Relax and listen."

For a second he wanted to counter his words with a snappish sentence but understood it was his only opportunity to see his grandmother. The question, if he even wanted to see his grandmother one last time, was pushed out of his mind immediately. So he focused on the wings, listened to their rhythm. Each of his wrists were taken by different hands. Their grip was strong and secure, before he knew it he was already flying and his heart beating in his chest loud and fast. He couldn't suppress the proud smile, even if he shouldn't smile and feel so happy, he couldn't stop it.

The newborn never opened his eyes, not wanting to see those faces or other angels or anything else which could distract and confuse him more. He tried to concentrate on nothing else than the sound of fluttering wings, feared the bare imagination about his grandmother and fears could change his mind. Now was not the time to be scary, even if his stomach felt sick and ached, even if his throat tightened so much it hurt and made it hard to swallow, even if his body grew cold and stiff.

He needed to know the truth, needed to understand whatever game was played here. His whole life was a wreck, a chaos! He wanted his old life back...

Nevertheless, the closer he got to the clinic, the worst it got. His stomach, his head, his heart, his throat - everything ached and clenched together. His feet landed a little bit clumsy on the even ground and he grabbed the nearest angel to steady himself as his feet felt like unmoveable stones. "We're here." Ryoma opened his eyes slowly when nobody moved or said anything else.

They stood somewhere in nowhere, only one big cloud hovering straight before him. Ryoma wouldn't have believed to find a building behind or inside the cloud if two guards wouldn't have stood at the entrance, staying patrol. The guards bowed down by the sight of the member of the royal family and a newborn, hid their confusion behind their emotionless mask and opened the locked and heavy double door. Atobe and Tezuka entered first while Sanada and Fuji followed inside after Ryoma had entered. The double door was closed once more and dead silence dominated the lighted corridor.

His breathing hitched, his palms were sweaty and his heart hammered so loud in his heart, he feared the other four could hear it.

The corridor was small and they needed to walk after one another and fold their wings. The large windows on the walls right and left from him allowed him a good view inside the rooms where naked angels sit in. Crouching, shivering, teetering in their knelt position.. but nobody of them made a noise. They all sat there in absolute silence.

Ryoma glanced inside each room, stopped only when a pair of silver orbs glared at him. He couldn't blink or move, couldn't break the eye-contact. His surrounding turned cold and pale. He began to shake from the cold, a chill crept up deep inside his flesh and bones. Oh, god. His legs would give in soon.

These eyes were faint and expressionless, not even rage flickered in those orbs. He lost his balance for a second, stumbled a little to the right and steadied himself with his right hand against the window, lowering his golden eyes. The eye-contact broke up, his view landed unconsciously on the man's bare burnt spine. Ryoma flinched by the painful sight - he couldn't see blood, never could - and his wings rustled a bit.

Everything happened in a blink of an eye. The next thing he realized was the creature starting to scream, to shriek and jumped against the window with full force, hurting his own with this action but never stopping. He was pulled back from the window and pushed forward by two gentle, almost emphatic hands.

The newborn opened and closed his mouth like a fish gasping for air. Questions, so many new questions and most of them would never be asked out of fear. Thankfully or not, Tezuka and Atobe continued to walk. "Every angel is in risk to turn this way. It's something we can't foresee or heal, it happens slowly and only with time does it get clear and visible. They lose their mind, not knowing what they do. These broken angels were too important to kill, so we ripped out one or both of their wings and leave them here, where they can't hurt anybody."

He didn't want to know more, didn't want to see more. He wanted to throw up and run out, leave the whole world behind him. Atobe and Tezuka stopped in front of another large window, turned around to look at him and then through the window and inside the room. Ryoma understood. They had reached their destination and the knot in his throat tightened painfully. His breaths were shallow and thin and he feared to choke.

The sight inside the room shattered a piece of his heart. His grandmother knelt in a corner of the white and nearly empty cell. Only a grey bed and a little black table with a black chair decorated the room - nothing else. She sat in the corner behind the bed, knees pulled against her chest, her eyes directed at nothing on the opposite wall. Her plucked left wing hang down onto the ground as the right wing had been ripped out. Her face was expressionless, her body naked and pale. She teetered on her heels, for and backwards as if she wanted to bring herself to sleep.

The room was large and high with no window to look out and no door to get inside. "Are you sure you want to speak to her?" The voice sounded like a scream in the silence and surprised him so much that he twitched. It was Sanada's voice, coming from behind him. All Ryoma could do was nod, his voice had left him long ago. "Alright."

The black-haired angel rested his right hand on the empty wall beside him, pressed against it and waited. A clicking sound echoed very quietly from the walls and the morning sun flooded his grandmother's room. A hatch had opened on the roof. "We can't help you once you're inside. We can just repeat your brother's words. Your grandmother is just like the one you had just seen. She will not sit still while you want to talk to her. She will attack you, not recognizing you. Do you still want to get inside?"

Did he? He wasn't so sure anymore, the longer he watched her , the stronger was the wish to give in to his fear and walk back. The silence around him made him crazy, everything was creepy and frightening. He wanted to go back, wanted his old life back, wanted to be free, wanted to see his smiling Granny. His sweet grandmother whom he had believed and trusted with his whole heart. "Okay." What? Had he really nodded with his head? Just now? Oh, god! He hadn't noticed it.

Tezuka led him to the end of the long corridor, because there was more room for him to spread his wings, and pointed with his finger up. "Fly up to her cell and be careful. Don't let your guard down." Ryoma nodded, walked past the angel and felt a light clap on his right shoulder. Had the guy just patted his shoulder? Before he could think about it, he forced his mind to focus on the more important things. He blinded out all the noises in and outside his body and mind, concentrated on the memory of fluttering wings and waited for his own wings to swing. They reacted shortly after, moved him up and stopped only in front of his grandmother's cell.

Ryoma swallowed hard and loud, fisting his shaking hands till his knuckles turned white and took one last deep breath before he jumped in. His feet made no sound by the impact with the white ground. From the corner of his eyes, Ryoma noticed the disappearance of the four brothers. They had really left him alone. Without help if he needed...

No! What the hell was he thinking?! It was just his grandmother. She wouldn't do anything bad to him. The person sitting at the other side of the room was his grandmother who would never hurt anybody, especially not her beloved grandson. She wouldn't...

...or...

...would she?

The woman whimpered and teetered further, didn't even note his existence. Ryoma stood at the very end of the room, opposite his grandmother and the bed. He was indecisive about how to start the conversation. The hatch was still open, gave him the chance to flee or to back off now.

"Granny?" No reaction, nothing. "Granny, it's me, Ryoma." Her whimpers quietened down and she began to hum an unknown melody instead. She never paused to teeter. "Do you recog-" Her head snapped to his side from one second to another. Ryoma broke up mid-sentence, staring into fierce and glaring honey brown orbs.

"Ryoma?" She asked and her voice sounded creepy. The way she spoke was too calm and too cold. He didn't like to hear it. His whole body was covered with goose bumps. His grandmother bend her head slightly to the right and then to the left as if she hoped to get a better view at him by moving her head like this. "Ryoma?" She asked again.

"Ryoma." Granny laughed and smiled, but the smile never reached her eyes. They remained cold and faint. Faint... They were as faint as the eyes of the guy he had seen a moment ago. Ryoma began to believe his brother's words. He swallowed hard, kept the sound of fluttering wings in his mind and stretched his own ones a little bit, ready to fly up if he needed to. It was time to ask the question, time to know the truth and as he opened his golden orbs, he gasped in surprise. His sweet grandmother stood in front of him with her arms wide open to hug him.

"My grandson, honey, it has been so long. How many years have past since the last time we saw each other?" She touched his cheek, ignored his shocked expression and the twitch. She stroke the now pale skin with her bony fingertips. "How are you doing? Is everything alright? What are you doing here? You should be at school, studying what humans study." His grandmother let go of him and took a step back, her view wandered over his body, scanned him from head to toe.

"My, how big you have gotten. Are there still those guys who bully you because of your height? Don't let it get to you! You need to be strong, honey, nobody wants to offer you a job if they know you're weak! But don't overdo it! Violence is not a safe option either." She laughed and grabbed his wrists, pulled him with her on the bed where she sat down and smiled at him. This time, it reached her eyes.

She talked without an end, asked him questions and gave him advises. The newborn had no time to answer any questions as she did it by herself. Ryoma tried to stop her gently, asked her to pay attention to him only one second. It was useless, in vain. It was this one question which he wanted to ask and get a reply for. Just one simple answer about his future was all he wanted and needed. The longer he waited the tighter got the grip on his wrists.

He had the feeling it was time for him to go. But first he needed to ask, to have the chance to get an answer. "Granny, was it you who had put the metal in my spine to hinderer those wings-" He pointed at his wings and moved them lightly. "-from growing?"

The chatting stopped, the silence returned. His grandmother stopped to speak, her mouth hung open and her eyes turned back to be faint and expressionless. Ryoma would have thought she was dead if her body wouldn't have twitched so much. "Wings? Ryoma, you have wings?" She trembled. "Are they beautiful? Show me! Show me your wings! They must be beautiful! Just like mine! Show me!"

His inner bells rang in alert. She hadn't seen his wings? She hadn't seen them on his spine?

How...?

Why couldn't she see them?

Cold, Ryoma felt cold. His throat was dry all of a sudden, his lungs burnt because he couldn't breathe. Something was wrong here. Something was not right here! Absolutely not! Her nails dug deep into his skin, slowly but forcefully. Small marks appeared and the pain hit him hard, shook him out of his frightened state.

He jumped up, pulled at a couple of time at his wrist till he was free. He stumbled backwards till he reached the place with the hatch above. "Please, don't go. Don't leave me alone. You can't leave me alone!" Her word sounded sharp and threatening. She grabbed his wrists once more, held him in place and hindered him to go. The grip hurt and her nails, which pierced through his skin, would leave an ugly bruise. His grandmother was far too strong for an old and senile woman. Her breathing was fast, her chest heaving and sinking uncontrolled and out of rhythm.

It was enough for his frightened and confused heart. Ryoma spread his wings unconsciously, pushed, shoved and pulled to get out of her painful grip. With one swift swing of his wings, she let go, scared from the sudden intruder - his wings - and rushed to the furthest corner. The woman slid down the fall, broke together on her knees and shrieked. She covered her entire face with her hands and cried. Tears fell onto the white tiles from under her hands and she began to teeter again, back and forth. Back and forth.

"Ryoma, it's time for us to return to the palace. The others are already waiting." The newborn nodded to the voice which came from out of nowhere, flew up and left his hysterical and mystical grandmother behind. As soon as he had left the cell, the hatch closed and locked again, disappeared. His head hurt, his body ached and the still open puzzle wasn't helping him either. The visit, the sight of his grandmother... it had made everything worse. What should he believe now? Who could he trust?

He landed on his feet, then his knees and bowed down into a ball, covering his face with his arms and pulling at his hair. The headache annoyed him, everything annoyed him. Why was everything so confusing? He wanted to cry, to scream, to destroy something, to do anything to get ride of the pressure of his whole shitty life! He trembled, the knuckles on his hands turned white and the knot in his throat was back, hindered him from breathing.

A hand slid under his chin and lifted his head up till he glared into dark brown eyes. Sanada's eyes and Sanada's lips. Lips which kissed his own as lightly and quickly as a butterfly. "You need to be there on time. We should hurry up, little brother."

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><p><strong>*It's the name of the traditional chinese dress.<strong>


	15. The Rumor About Another Prince

**Disclaimer: Do not own anything.**

* * *

><p><strong><em>~~ The Rumor About Another Prince ~~<em>**

**_~~ 19. April, Early Midday ~~_**

They were right. Every angel was already waiting, staring at the place of wonders where the test for the newborns would take place soon. Angels flew above, beside and all around the newborns who stood there in all their glory on one large plate. Only the even glassy ground steadied their weight, no walls to lean on or something else to get a hold on. The plate flew in the middle of nothing, beneath them was nothing else than air and wind - the endless sky.

They looked like the sacrificing lambs with their white clothes and their naked dirty feet. Little groups and a handful of loners dispensed themselves over the whole ground. A few of them looked scared or shy, tried to hide behind other newborns or hid their heads in between their shoulders and wings. Others looked proud and confident, smirked and grinned, lifted their heads and noses up in the air. Everybody was excited, it was clearly visible.

The way their wings moved and spread eagerly, the way their heads snapped from one side to another and how their view wandered over each angel - everything disclosed their true emotions. Their wings sparkled in different colors, not glittery but beautiful nonetheless. It was a beautiful picture and Ryoma would have been stunned by the view if his mind wouldn't replay his grandmother's puzzling words.

He didn't understand the words, even as he recalled them for the nth time in his head, he still couldn't understand the meaning behind them. Granny had reacted as if she had two uncontrolled and completely different personalities inside her. She had been nice and gentle for one moment while she turned harsh and furious in the other.

The princes told him she was sick, had an illness without a cure. But getting crazy and insane like the people, the creatures, he had seen. Could they still call it a sickness? His grandmother had been scared by the sight of his wings, only his wings. So were it his wings - the color and feature which had scared her? Well, Ryoma admitted, the color and pattern of his feathers were strange and the reactions from the other angels told him so too, nonetheless, her frightened reaction didn't make any sense. At first, his grandmother had been so excited to see his wings, had been happy to have him there by her side.

But as soon as she had seen his wings, she had been scared, shrieked as if she felt any pain or had remembered something bad. If the angels harmed or tortured her? Ryoma hoped not, even so, the guess hadn't left his mind so far, always coming back. What would he need to do to hear the truth, to see it with his own eyes? Or was that the truth? It couldn't be!

When they had been still in the clinic, he had thought about asking the four angels on their way back, nagging them till they would speak. Nevertheless, their eyes had told him not to do so and Sanada's words had also done their part. _Little brother_, this were his words. The black-winged angel had called him brother as if he belonged to their family.

Ryoma didn't know if the angel had said it on purpose to shake him awake or to anger him like always. He had only glared into dark brown eyes, warned the other angel and threatened him silently to repeat those words. Never would he be one of them. He wouldn't be a part of this family - of this race. All his submission was for Ryoga and as long as his dear brother lived here happily, Ryoma would play along to keep him safe. At least he hoped the angels stayed to their pact.

Something fluttered quickly in front of his eyes and caught his attention, shoved him out of his thoughts. An angel had taken him the sight at the newborns on the glassy plate, flew on the same spot right in front of the window where Ryoma looked out. The newborn groaned and sighed, leaned his head against the window to cool his skin. The princes had commanded him to wait here while they changed clothes. He would have gone outside to get some fresh air but the armed guards at the other side of the doors and all the flying angels had changed his mind quickly.

It didn't surprise Ryoma that the princes had chosen the earlier dark red bedroom which was now a neutral and cold bedroom. The atmosphere wasn't the same like the one he had felt this morning. Also Yukimura and his brother weren't here. He was alone, standing in front of the window which gave him quite a good view at the happenings outside. That was before the angels with turkey-colored wings, who was now in front of him, had come to the same conclusion.

So many wings at one place and each one looked more beautiful than the other. But no matter where Ryoma looked, no one had the same or a similar pattern on his or her wings like his own. His white wings with the silver and golden pattern were not only stunning but rare at the same time and his so called dust - he still didn't know if he should believe it or not - had something to do with it too. It would at least explain the sudden change of mood of the royal family.

Not only the queen but also the princes seemed to have seen something in him since he had this pair of wings. Something which forced them to pull him onto their side by all available means. He couldn't explain the change of behavior in any other way. The princes had given him clothes from their own wardrobe while the other newborns wore still the white robe. He had been allowed to sleep in their palace while nobody outside the royal family was allowed to do so.

The more he thought about it, the worse were his imaginations about the reasons behind their almost nice behavior.

The door behind him burst open, startled Ryoma and let him turn on his heels by hearing the familiar and welcoming voice. "Amazing, isn't it? I can't believe it's already time for it. I'll finally be an angel!" Ryoga marched to him and tried to glance at the other newborns, ignored his younger brother who stared at him with open eyes. Ryoga wore the same clothes like him. The only difference was the color. Instead of Ryoma's dark bodysuit, Ryoga wore a grey-colored one with a pitch black tunic above.

So Ryoga was a special someone, too? An idea hit him like a lightning. Maybe he wore this clothes because his and Ryoga's clothes got too dirty from their last flight and couldn't get cleaned - they had gotten substitutes for their usual clothes. Maybe his wings weren't the reason for their behavior and the new clothes. Ryoga's wings were plain and simple if he compared them with the wings of the other newborns and angels. It would make sense.

"Ne, Chibisuke..." Ryoga had stopped his rambling, stood still with his spine in his direction and spoke quietly with a serious voice. "They have told me about your visit by Granny." His brother took a deep breath. "How was she? Had she reacted the same like the guy in the first cell?"

Ryoga's questions stirred his senses awake, entirely. "You have visited her, too!? You were there and haven't told m-"

"-when should I have done it? I hadn't known you were here. I never believed my younger brother was an angel, too. It was a coincidence that I saw you falling. I couldn't let you fall and splatter in thousand pieces so I helped you!" Both brothers stared at each other. Gold met gold. Ryoga was the first to break the eye contact, sighed before he spoke. "At my first night here, they told me about her state and brought me to her. I wasn't very close to Granny, so it didn't really matter to me what she was. She had always preferred your company instead of mine..."

Ryoma watched his brother turning around to the window again, head leaning against the cool front side of the glass, just like Ryoma had been a few minutes ago. "I never reached her cell. I stopped at the third window. There was a man with only one wing inside. He sat in the furthest corner, whining and trembling from fear. I ran away, couldn't bear the sight. I was scared to turn into one of them if I looked in their eyes."

The door opened once again before Ryoma could answer his brother and inside came a flustered Yukimura with clenched fists and gritted teeth. The third newborn was dressed in an unique Qipao in a halter-neck-style which pointed out his pretty feminine figure. His hips would tempt any male and female to stare at it and his legs looked endless and long. Yukimura wore the same black tight pants under the dark cyan-colored dress which ended at his knees. One in one, he had similarities with prince Fuji.

"Stop staring! I don't wear it freely, just to be clear." Ryoma smirked, turned around and stifled his laughers. So Yukimura was just as defenceless against those four as him. It was a satisfying fact which let him grin harder. The bluenette blushed deeply, crossed his arms before his chest and glared at him. It made him look like an angered girl. Ryoga couldn't hold back his laughers any longer.

The laugher and carefree atmosphere didn't last long because the princes entered the room in their glory liveries. It was the sight of Sanada Genichirou which triggered the memories of his grandmother to return and the following thoughts to overwhelm him. His throat felt dry and his heart hammered in his ears. His feet were frozen onto the ground, heavy as stones.

His focus laid once again by his grandmother, by the other newborns and by the incoming horror of a test, by his future. He still had no idea how he should handle such a situation. Ryoma had no plan what he should or how he should act when he followed those princes out and onto the glassy plate.

In a couple of minutes, he would go out, stay beside the other newborns without having a single clue how he should react. The more he thought about his grandmother's act, the worse did he feel. He had already goose bumps, his stomach rebelled and small shivers overwhelmed him from time to time. The newborn knew and understood there was no longer an escape for him as the princes had made it clear what kind of consequence it would have. The newborn had no doubt about them fulfilling the threat. They would harm and torture his brother, even daring to kill his true parents.

A hand on his right shoulder jolted him awake, out of his thoughts. He was spun around and pushed forward. His brain couldn't register and work so fast like he was moved forward. "Don't stay in the centre, keep yourself at the end of the plate, alone." Ryoma recognized the hushed voice only after a couple of seconds. Atobe walked at the front, led the way to the entrance where all eyes were directed at. After the prince by blood walked Ryoga, than Tezuka, followed by Yukimura and him. Sanada walked behind him while Fuji was at the end of the chain.

The knot in his throat tightened the closer they got. It was hard to breathe.

"Don't look down, look always up and focus on nothing else than your own. Don't care about anyone else and hold your head high." The voice came from behind him, directed at only him as Ryoga and Yukimura didn't react in any way. Sanada, Tezuka and Atobe began to move their wings and flew out of the corridor, so he had no chance to ask them why. Mumbling and loud clapping sounds filled the place immediately. "Don't even think about giving up or falling down on purpose or you'll regret it. Our deal is still on." Without any more words, Fuji followed his brothers.

"We should go too. We're already late enough."

"Yeah!" His energetic brother was back to his old self or he could hide his worries very good behind a mask of being carefree and happy. Ryoga grinned one more time before he too flew through the entrance and onto the glassy plate. The clapping stopped immediately, gasps and hushed words filled the whole place.

"They must wonder about his clothes. We stand out way too much." Unaffected by the whispers from the other angels, Yukimura stretched his dark blue wings, ready to fly out, too. A light shone inside through the open double door, onto the bluenette's face and by a closer look, Ryoma noticed something very interesting. He stared at it with narrowed orbs till Yukimura left him alone in the hall and flew outside to the other newborns.

Was that... dust on Yukimura's face? Blue-colored dust?

Another wave of gasps and whispers echoed from the outside into the hall and Ryoma snorted, closed his eyes and breathed in deeply. He didn't want to go outside, he didn't want to see or hear anything. All he needed and wanted right now was quietness and a calm atmosphere. He needed time to clear his head from all those scary memories and thoughts.

"You should follow our newest and youngest member of the royal family." The newborn spun around, startled by the sudden voice coming from the other end of the room. He glared into cold blue orbs, deep and dark like the depth of an ocean. Goose bumps crept up and covered the skin all over his body. Ryoma took unconsciously two steps back by the intensive glare.

"Newest and youngest member of the royal family? Who?"

"Yukimura Seiichi, of course. You should show more respect in front of a prince. Don't stand there, newborn. Move it! The royal family don't like to wait."

"Since when is he... one of them?" _Traitor!_ Was the only word Ryoma could think of but speaking it out in front of an angel wasn't the wises thing to do. Though, the question about the truth of Yukimura's words was more interesting. Hadn't he said he wanted to escape out of here, too? Had Yukimura's curiosity won over him and forced him to stay here freely? _What an idiot!_

The female angel with the black wings snorted arrogantly. "Haven't you seen the bluish dust on his face, sticking and glittering on his face as if it is glues on his skin. The royal family uses this kind of dust very seldom. Prince Fuji even rarer as his dust has two effects." This let him peaked up.

"Two effects? Which?"

She sighed, began to clean the first large window at the end of the room. "Find it out by yourself. However, not many angels have two effects of their dust. Prince Fuji is one of a million, just like your disgusting wings which haven't been seen around here for centuries."

Ryoma blinked. Wait... What? Had he heard it right? His wings weren't ugly! To tell the truth, he found them quite beautiful. He fisted his hands, his muscles tensed. His voice sounded a little irritated but still friendly. "So what is so special about Yukimura having the dust all over his face?"

"It's not the fact but the constitution of the dust. It was sticking on his face like glue."

Can't she tell him everything in one go without letting him pull everything out of her nose? "Meaning?"

She groaned in annoyance. "Are you so dense, newborn? Get out and finish your test if you can!" She turned around, mumbled inaudible words to herself and began to continue her duties once more. Ryoma wanted to snap at her and tell her that he, at least, didn't need to lick someone other's feet to be alive. And that he would survive every test because he had still a brain which had the ability to think. Nevertheless, the angry voice, which called him, hindered him by doing so.

"Ryoma!" Said male spun on his heels and faced an angry prince. Tezuka flew at the end of the entrance, his wings swinging softly to keep him above the ground. The newborn sighed, headed towards the prince by feet, not using his wings. As soon as he was close enough, Tezuka grabbed his left harm, pulled him even closer to whisper in his ears. "No more rebellious attitude, you promised."

The words left his gritted teeth sooner than he could think. "Wrong! I didn't promise, you simply didn't leave me any other choice!"

"You still think it was our fault? Your grandmother had caught a disease! Nobody can stop this sickness and all we can do to keep our folk safe is to lock them up." Ryoma snorted. He couldn't believe it, didn't want to believe it! Even if it sounded so realistic and true, he simply couldn't. He had seen her himself, with his own eyes... seen the horror and confusion but his every being was fighting against the unwanted truth.

The hand on his left upper arm pulled him out of the short corridor and the light from the outside, the sun, blinded his sensitive orbs for a blink of an eye. The hand around his arm let go after giving him a little push which made him stumble forward. The angels gasps - Ryoma hadn't really expected anything else. However, the spoken curses, louder and louder, the expressions of disgust and disbelief weren't expected at all. The double door behind him closed loudly, signaled him about his current situation. He was caged, no running away or hiding in the palace any longer.

He was standing on the glassy plate, in front of the other newborns who stared, glared and watched him with shy or rivalry eyes. His own view wandered to the flying angels above him. He felt like a guinea pig which got put on display for everybody to see or like some model on a freaking fashion show. Their gazes pierced through him, scanned him with more care than the other newborns. No wonder. None of the other newborns had such wings like his. Not even one angel above him had such an unique pair of wings.

"Ryoma!" His brother waved his hand in the air, wanted him to come over to him and some other newborns and leave his place at the very end of the plate. Ryoga's friends, the other newborns, didn't look very pleased and happy about Ryoga calling him to them, some of them look terrified at his brother and pulled at his robe as if it could stop Ryoma to come over. Ryoma didn't get further than taking a handful of steps before an icy chill crossed his skin and caused him to shiver hard.

Automatically, his eyes wandered around the crowd anew, searched for the source of coldness. His eyes landed on the royal family, who had gotten the service to sit on glassy thrones instead of flying in the air like the other angels, and rested by the four princes, especially by Sanada. The angel shook his head slightly, warned him - he should stay at the end of the plate, alone.

He had no chance to think about obeying or rebelling against them because the king, who sat between the queen and his son by blood, stood up from his throne, lifted and spread his arms. The crowd grew quiet immediately. "Let us greet our new sons and daughters, and let us praise those who are not only strong and brave but also have the skill to fit in."

It was a rather small and short speech. The king nodded, returned to sit on his throne. A wave of curious whispers and excited glances came from the newborns and as everyone wasn't expecting anything at all, it happened. Ryoma flinched by the shrieks all around him, forced his eyes shut out of surprise.


	16. Prove Your Skills

**Disclaimer: Do not own anything.**

* * *

><p><strong><em>~~ Prove Your Skills ~~<em>**

**_~~ 19. April, Late Midday ~~ _**

The shrieks lasted only for a couple of seconds before they slowly died to small whimpers and winces. The horror around him, however, didn't stop. A strong metallic scent tickled his nose soon enough. Heavy and different waves of wind blasted against him and overwhelmed him with all different kinds of emotions and smells. Ryoma didn't dare to unclose his eyes for even a blink of an eye when something wet got splattered on his face, slowly streaming down his skin. He simply stood where he was, not moving or doing anything at all, even when his whole being wanted run and puke.

He couldn't have done it, even if he would have wanted to.

His whole body was shaking and tense while he waited for something, for the impact of pain and agony with cold and sweaty hands. He didn't know what had happened, had no clue what was hurting the others as nothing pained him. Ryoma didn't want to know it either and would be glad if it stayed like that. He couldn't feel any difference from before. Nothing had changed and as long as it would stay this way he would only focus on himself and keep his eyes closed, waiting till it all ended - or till somebody would speak clearly with him or address him.

"-uke."

Different voices echoed over the field, some were calm and controlled - free from pity or any other emotions – while some others sounded furious and distracted. The horde of angels above him talked all at once, not bothering that it was distracting the newborns in their survival. Did they do it on purpose? From the way they had looked and glared at him after he had entered he would guess - yes, they surely did it on purpose. What was going on here?

His curiosity was strong, nagging at him. He wanted to take a glance, just a short and quick look at his surroundings. Nonetheless, the fear of seeing something he didn't want to see and would never forget was too strong. Ryoma couldn't understand a single bit of the spoken words. Still, he was certain without any doubt that the angels were talking about the other newborns and most likely about him. Their reactions after they had seen his wings had told him their judgement about him. He already hated them. How could they simply discuss and talk with each other while their offspring was busy with keeping themselves alive from whatever was here, whatever was hurting the others. Those bastards!

If Ryoga was alright?

"-suke!"

"Ry-!"

"HELP!"

His spine ached, it was more of a ticklish feeling than a painful one. Something wet hit his face again and Ryoma covered his head and face with his hands and arms, pulling his knees up to his chest, hoping nothing would make contact with his head or any other part of his precious body another time and knock him out. Losing his consciousness would be his death or whatever shape he would be in after getting hit by the strange something. He could image the angels pushing him down the glassy plate and letting him fall down onto the hard ground beneath him. Mercy, he had understood so far, was not their thing.

"Please, Ryoma!"

"Let go of me! Now!"

"Chibisuke!"

Ryoma's eyes snapped open out of instinct, searched for the familiar source of noise. There were so many different blotches of colors and figures. His vision was one big blur. Panic rose up as his golden eyes began to burn only a few seconds later. What was going on?! He loosened his shaking left hand from his head and wiped the wetness from his eyes. The instant he touched it, it burnt inside his skin and he gasped by the intense pain which reached up his hand and also his lower and upper arm.

He wiped his hands against his face in harsh and fast movements, wanted the burning wetness away from him. Panic had reached the upper hand, let him forget about calm and controlled actions. Rational thinking was long forgotten. His right hand was helping his left hand, wiping his face with them over and over again. Ryoma's breath had sharpened, came out in fast and short gasps. He was scared and his action was useless, no matter how hard he tried to get ride of the wetness on his skin, it was somehow glued on him. However, the scariest fact of it was its color.

When he lifted his right hand at eye level, he saw a dark red blotch – like blood.

"CHIBISUKE!"

Someone called him; only one person would call him by this name, only his brother would scream his name like that. Ryoma blinked once, twice, thrice, wanted and needed his vision to focus completely. His heart sped up even more when, after endless seconds, he still could only see blurry silhouettes. The panic was nearly overwhelming him. What was wrong here!? Was someone playing a prank on him? Since when was blood so painful and caustic? His eyes searched further for his brother, tried to recognize his brother through all the different colored blotches.

He needed to be somewhere. Anywhere!

"HEY! HANDS OFF OF MY WINGS!"

"Get off me!" Another voice, not Ryoga's but a familiar one nevertheless.

His head shot to the left with narrowed eyes, focused and finally recognized a familiar figure not too far away from him. It wasn't the one he was searching for, nevertheless, still a familiar person.

Yukimura.

Ryoma identified the colorful blotches as the other newborns that clung at the distressed bluenette's wings and body. Their wings moved in different rhythms, blocked and disturbed each other's swings because of it. A dark red liquid streamed down their fingers, hands and arms and also their faces. They were ripping out Yukimura's wings, the skin on his spine, everything which they could grab and get a hold of. The bluenette had trouble to get ride of them, especially those who dug their nails into his spine and behind his wings. The Qipao was torn, the skin, which was visible through the other newborns and his bad vision, was covered in blood.

Now he understood the princes' words. They wanted him to survive for whatever the purpose was. They didn't care about his brother or anyone else, not even for the so called new prince Yukimura Seiichi. They had probably figured out long ago how his mind worked. If he would help and save his brother again, they would use Ryoga as bait to keep him at bay and bind him to them. Letting his brother die was out of option, not after enduring so much pain and lies.

Lies? About his grandmother? About him and his own life which he had left behind? Had he already chosen and made up his decision?

Ryoma would admit it: The princes, the whole royal family, were one hell of smart and beautiful asses. However, it didn't change his mind about them being bastards and heartless creatures.

"Get off me!" He didn't struggle for another second, rushed to the bluenette who had just spoken and wanted to help to get ride of the other newborns. It was unnecessary. Yukimura closed his eyes, frowned in pain and focus and an inch before he reached the bluenette, the newborns were suddenly falling off as if they were frozen to stone. Their eyes were still open but they didn't move, didn't react at all. They were simply falling from Yukimura and down the sky. There were gasps and applause from the angels above them. They sounded cheerful as if Yukimura had just done a magical trick.

The bluenette himself seemed to be near the same state like those newborns, waving dangerously in the air from side to side with his head bowed and hands hanging down. What the hell?! His wings glittered silver. It looked magical on his dark bluish wings. Like a picture of the stars at the midnight sky. And for a moment Ryoma couldn't help as to stare at them.

"CHIBI-! ARGH!"

Ryoga!

Ryoma swirled around; all his attention went back to his shouting brother. His vision was still one big blur but as there was only one big blotch left it was self explaining that Ryoga was somewhere there, screaming in pain and asking him for help. He didn't want to ask himself where all the other newborns were right now or what had happened to those who had just fallen down.

No, now was the wrong time to think about others. So he narrowed his still burning and tearing eyes, moved his wings and flew forward. He would have crashed into another newborn who shot up from somewhere under him if he wouldn't have formed his body into a strange angle.

The moment he moved, he understood what had happened. Flying, he had been flying all the time. The ground, the glassy plate beneath him had disappeared and he must have reacted out of instinct, moving his wings without noticing anything while the other newborns hadn't. A strange feeling filled his heart but he suppressed it as quickly as it had risen up. Had it been pride? No, better not think about it too much.

His wings swung faster as he flew to his brother and peeled a girl with purple colored wings off of his brother, then a boy with brown colored wings and another girl with cyan colored wings. The newborns fell down, screamed and shrieked, nevertheless, he didn't care. Now was not the time to think about anything else than his brother's life. The most important thing in his mind was his dear brother. Ryoga needed to stay alive. He had promised that to himself. If he couldn't have his own life like he wanted it to be, than he would at least make the best of it and help his brother to fulfil his dream.

Ryoga was his last family member. What would happen to him if he wasn't there anymore?

Some of the newborns who he had just thrown away began to fly, up and down, right to left - not a bit in control of their wings.

"Chibisuke..." His brother was out of breath, his pained expression said all what he felt - agony but also gratefulness for his little brother's help. "...thanks..." Ryoma ripped the last newborn off, but instead of throwing him away like he had done it with the other newborns; he paused, recognized this one clearly. Big brown eyes gazed at him, the black hair stuck on the newborn's face and little sweat drops run along the cheeks, mixed with blood. The newborn shook violently, the green headband had slipped down long ago and hung now loosely around the neck.

"Y-Y-You?!" Gasps and catcalls resounded and someone screamed at him to let the newborn go and fall down. Dan Taichi, the newborn, who had tried to talk to him a few days ago, looked up at him with tearing puppy-like eyes, pleading and begging silently at him not to let go. The young teen was scared as hell, it was visible and for everybody to see through his body language. "Please...don't..."

Fear was something the angels didn't want to have in their circle as they killed all the weaker newborns indirectly. Ryoma had at least understood so far. Still the most important question was the reason behind all the trouble:  
>For what did they want only the strong newborns? To built an army? Or a shield? He had no clue. All he knew about all this crap had been torn into pieces as the guy had called him his <em>brother<em>. What was wrong with them, those angels?

The catcalls increased, grew louder and unmistakeable, there was no chance to ignore them anymore. What should he do? There was not enough time. He wouldn't be able to hold out much longer either. His vision got worse with each blink, the pain never leaving while his spine was aching because of his wings. Since he had come here, he was always injured! He wasn't a masochist!

Someone threw something at him and also hit him on the head with it. Yeah, he would help the newborn. If he let go, threw him away like the others, he wouldn't be any different than those freaks above them. "Think about something very good and special for you. Be free and don't think about death. Be yourself and forget those bastards around us! Don't look down and stay calm and focused." The other newborns were hopefully not dead or in absolute agony.

He lost altitude, nonetheless, he tightened his grip around Dan's sweaty and slightly bloody wrist, not ready to let go of the pure newborn with the naive soul. Though, the slick wrist slipped through his hand over and over again. In the meantime, Dan forced his big brown orbs shut and frowned deeply, trying to focus to no avail. His wings were still moving uncontrolled or nothing at all.

Another thing hit his head and also Ryoga got hit by it, nevertheless, Ryoma didn't let go. It was the opposite; he got all the more enthusiastic to help the other newborns. "You need to think clearly, focus on your wings. Don't give up." Dan stared at him with uncertainty flickering in his orbs. "C'mon! I can't hold you much longer!"

"He's right. You need to learn how to control your wings, even in a situation like this." Ryoma jolted up by the sudden appearance of Yukimura who grabbed the other wrist and helped him to steady Dan. Wow…. That was something he hadn't expected. Since when was the bluenette awake and out of his strange trance? "We need to reach the ground above our heads or they will execute us just like the others."

Easier said than done. Ryoga was flying next to him, barely holding himself at bay. His body was shaking, trembling from the exercises and Ryoma doubt he would be able to hold on much longer. Yukimura was the same. The bluenette's wings were strangely unharmed, only dirtied with blood but no wounds were visible. Only Yukimura's harsh breathing proved Ryoma about the also strange happening from before. He would think about it later. On the other hand, Ryoga's wings were torn and quite a handful of feathers were ripped out.

Another newborn flew past them with high speed, followed by more newborns. All of them flew up and landed on something glassy in the sky, far above them. It would be hard to reach it, especially if Dan wasn't able to fly on his own. "Well, that's easy!"

What? Ryoma stared at his brother who seemed to grin but his vision couldn't be trusted anymore. The burning had lessened, nevertheless, his vision was still blurry and slowly but surely would be overwritten with darkness entirely. They needed to fly up quickly to this shitty thing. The distance grew steadily. "Ryoga, now is not the time to jo-"

"Let him go, now!" Ryoma twitched by the coldness of the voice and glanced up at the source of noise, viewing at none other than Tezuka Kunimitsu who stood up from his throne and glared at them with strict eyes behind his glasses. Dan's shaking form quivered even more, his eyes were glassy from the incoming tears and his bottom lip trembled violently from fear. Dan's white wings with the lightly green outlines were still moving uncontrolled, nearly blocking and disturbing Ryoma's own swinging wings.

Yukimura reacted out of instinct, let go of Dan's wrist, already being used about getting commanded around by the princes. So on which side was the bluenette exactly? Thankfully his brother caught Dan's wrist right in time or both newborns would have most likely fallen down from the sudden change of weight. They needed to reach the thing above them. One quick glance told Ryoma that his dear brother wouldn't last much longer. "Echizen Ryoma, let him go and do not go against the rules."

"You know the consequences for your disobedience." Sanada Genichirou also stood up from his throne, staying there with arms crossed in front of his chest. His movement was followed by Atobe Keigo and Fuji Syusuke. "Do not try our patience." The voice, the tone, there was no room left for disobedience.

"Ryoma?!" His burning eyes wandered to his brother, who had spoken, then to Yukimura who was still flying next to him and staring at him, also being at a loss of words, and to the newborn who clung on his wrist like glue. What should he do? Could he risk his brother's life for Dan's? Could he let go of this shaking hand, knowing it would be the end of the boy's life? Wouldn't he be a murderer if he did?

Were there more options? Were it just these two options he had?

Letting go and kill someone or hold the hand and let his brother get harmed because of it.

Wasn't it the same?

How should he react? How should he choose?

His heart was hammering in his chest, so loud he heard it in his ears, felt it in every pore of his body. His hands were sweaty, he couldn't focus. Panic. Fear. What should he? The angels would kill, there was no doubt. But they wanted him to decide who of them should get killed. That couldn't be true. What should he do? It wasn't fair!

It was hard to swallow, his wings began to flutter, to swing faster and faster. His view wandered over to Ryoga, to Yukimura, to Dan and back to his brother. Why wasn't anybody helping him? Why were all the other angels suddenly so silent?

"Choose now!"

That wasn't fair! His hand shook furiously; the wrist began to slip from his hand, slowly but certainly. He needed to do something, anything to stop this nightmare. He couldn't risk Ryoga's life, but he also could not end the life of Dan, the small boy with the naive mind. He didn't want to be a murderer! He didn't want to be like them!

"Ryoma, throw him away." Dan began to plead and beg as soon as Yukimura had said those words. Ryoma could only watch in horror how Dan shook, pulled at his hand and trashed around, grabbed his wrist with the other hand and dug his nails into his flesh. Even so, he felt no pain, he felt nothing. The adrenaline rushed through his veins. "We need to get up, we're the last one and if we don't hurry we'll all end up on the ground, splattered in thousand pieces. Let him go and let us fly up with Ryoga."

His mouth opened, closed, opened again and closed once more. He couldn't find the right words. "I can't….He is…." The bluenette shook his head in disappointment. "If you want your brother unharmed, than you should only think about yourself and him and nobody else. They will show no mercy when killing him. Probably doing it in front of you." Without another word, Yukimura flew up, left him alone with the other two. Ryoma's hurting eyes wandered to Ryoga. His vision was nearly nothing. He couldn't see anything at all. The outlines of his sight transformed black; the middle was now one big blur. He couldn't even see Ryoga's silhouette, only seeing different colors mixed into each other.

"Ryoma, we need to fly up to pass the test. Please…." He couldn't look away from the blotch which was most likely his brother, couldn't stop his hands from shaking and sweating. "….Please I have always longed for it…."

It wasn't right.

Ryoma gritted his teeth till his jaw hurt, closed his eyes and sent a prayer up to whoever was listening to it. It was wrong.

He let go.

Dan's shrieks, screams and shouts resounded in his ears, even after they weren't audible anymore. He had just killed someone. Ryoga grabbed his wrist, pulled him up and flew with him in tow the long way up to the goal.

He had just murdered someone.  
>He had saved his brother's life but had ended Dan's life for it.<p>

The tears on his cheeks streamed on unnoticed by him and also by Ryoga who had enough trouble with flying up with his broken wings.

What had he done?


	17. The Enlightenment Of The Secret

**Disclaimer: Do not own anything.**

* * *

><p><em><strong>~~ The Enlightenment Of The Secret ~~<strong>_

_**~~ 19. April, Early Afternoon ~~**_

His mind was spinning from the flood of emotions. He knew them, had felt each of them at least once...

Guilt

Fear

Sorrow

Self-consciousness

Hate

"Just a little bit more." Ryoga's voice was nothing more than muffled prattling in his ears. His heart was far too loud, pumping blood and adrenaline in his veins, hammering so hard and endlessly in his chest that he had trouble to breathe. However, neither the blood nor the adrenaline seemed to reach the upper and lower parts of his body. His feet, legs, arms and hands - everything was icy cold, so very, very cold. His whole body trembled violently, his burning eyes wandered over his blurry surroundings - unfocused and disorientated, never stayed too long at one point. The pain from his eyes didn't fade or lessen in any way. It was the opposite - he felt as if his eyes were in the middle of a damn fire. The tears couldn't be stopped and streamed down his cheeks and chin.

His brother pulled at his hand, led him to somewhere safe. "We're there." Ryoma felt the steady ground sooner than expected. He wasn't even near of being ready to land. He had no chance to get himself ready for a harsh landing, so as soon as his feet met the ground he lost his balance, stumbled a few steps forward before his brother held him upright and stopped him from falling on his knees. His feet were numb, tickling and hurting whenever he put pressure on them - the same feeling he always got when a part of his body was asleep. "Ryoma, you okay?"

It was quiet around him, only his brother's voice was audible in his ears.  
>Or maybe the voice was just a delusion?<p>

Perhaps he had just become deaf...  
>The punishment for his sin? For killing an innocent person?<p>

No... it was quiet. There was the sound of rustling wings and some people were talking very quietly somewhere at the end of wherever or whatever he stood at.

He heard Ryoga sigh in relief, panting and coughing from the exercises and stress, out of oxygen and energy. Their hands were still intertwined, holding each other and Ryoma wasn't sure whom of them needed the contact more. It was the all of a sudden appearing hand running through his hair and the warm breath near his ear which startled him. "Ryoma, come with me."

The person probably spoke normal but to him it sounded like a whisper, nearly inaudible. The hand in his hair slid down to his neck, rested there and began slowly to stroke his skin gently with his thumb. "You and your brother need to come with us, now! The other angels can't see us right at the moment but they will be allowed up here in a few minutes... We can heal you and let you skip the rest of the test. You have already proved yourself to be worth of being an angel." The last words, which were only meant for his ears, were whispered, so Ryoma had a hard time to understand and actually hear them correctly.

The other large and slender hand from the stranger grabbed his free wrist and held it tightly, secure. The person was strong, not only from the outside but from the inside as well. He could feel the dominance and the strength through the grip and a deep shudder crossed his aching spine when the stranger's first hand wasn't stroking but now massaging his neck - loosening up his sore muscles.

"Kunimitsu, bring your brother to the healer and take Seiichi with you." Ryoma twitched, surprised by the familiar and hated sound. He hadn't heard her flying closer to them. Though, he would always recognized _this_ kind of voice, even through the cotton wool in his ears. It was the queen. She must have approached Ryoga and him while he had been distracted by the hand in his neck, otherwise her voice wouldn't be audible for him.

Ryoma had no chance to think about the strangeness of the sentence because Tezuka agreed with her and swung his wings, caused the air twirling around them when he lifted himself from the ground. The hand massaging his neck remained in its place and so did the other one. The prince tugged gently at his wrist, told him silently to fly and follow him. The angel was kidding, right?

How should he do that? He had barely any strength left. He hadn't even enough to go against him - needless to say that flying was out of question. Also, his eyes were slowly but surely killing him and Ryoma began to fear for his eyesight.

"I will protect you, my little brother. You don't need to worry or feel guilty. It will be fine, you'll see. Ryoga is coming with us, too." All he wanted was to fall asleep and wake up from this nightmare. Ryoma wanted to sleep, to forget the whole last week and start from the moment he had left his true home. "The other newborns are already watching. Just give in and relax. I'll bring you to your room."

He was nearly unconscious when he felt Ryoga's hand being pulled out of his own and someone lifting him up - bridal style. They weren't wasting any time, separating him from his family and annoying him whenever they could. Ryoma opened his tired mouth and wanted to yell at the brunette but he was too tired, too hurt and too exhausted to speak.

The last thing he noticed was his body growing heavy and numb, freezing to stone. And he understood too well what had happened - Tezuka had used some of his dust on him again. He would need to find an antidote for it.

As soon as he woke up...

_**~~ 19. April, Night ~~**_

Gentle strokes on his spine.

A heart beat steadily in his ears.

Tender fingers ran over the skin of his arms, so feather-light and fondly.

A beautiful melody rang in his ears.  
>Someone was humming quietly to the sound of a harp. It was soothing.<p>

Something was brushing his wings very carefully.

A calming scent fogged his mind.

He felt safe...  
>Everything seemed fine...<br>Still... something nagged him to remember something very important...

Something he should know... should remember... but simply couldn't...  
>He groaned as a headache rose up from all the thinking.<p>

"Take your time to wake up, little brother." The voice alone gave him a shiver with its husky and deep tone. It was the same voice which he had heard before he had fainted - Tezuka's voice. It strangely gave him the feeling of safety, even when his mind scolded him for not feeling distressed, guilty, depressed or something similar to it. He should remember something... What was it? "Everything is fine. We're all here."

The words sounded so wrong in his ears. Ryoma twitched by the bare sound of hearing them. However, his body and mind weren't in sync any longer as his body relaxed even more while his brain tried to actually work and threw some pieces of his missing memory back in his awareness. Different, crazy and unconnected pictures flickered for a mere second in front of his golden eyes, confused him and made his already painful headache worse.

"Shh, relax and just feel... don't think. It will hinder the medicine to help your body... Everything is fine. You don't need to worry, Ryoma." It wasn't that he wanted to worry. He just couldn't stop with it. His thoughts wandered in circles, the pictures getting clearer and clearer but still not making sense. A piece of cloth stroke over his right wing and left a ticklish sensation while fingers ran deeply under every feather of his left wing, caressed them. Another shiver shook his whole body, deeper and stronger than before. He didn't even notice it, only feeling the gentleness of the hands on his body. The touch felt good, soothing and calming. His body felt like jelly, so numb and yet relaxed, boneless. "You're safe and so are your brothers, your family."

Something in his mind told him to question and to think about the meaning behind those words, nonetheless, he couldn't because a pair of hands began to massage his temples and washed out all the worries in his mind, slowly but steadily. The scent grew stronger and more intensive - forced him to yield, to stay calm. He was too exhausted, his eyes felt too heavy, just like the rest of his body. Every cell in him told him to drive back to dreamland and sleep a little bit more.

How long had it been?  
>When was the last time he had relaxed?<p>

Why hadn't he done this before?

Something tender touched his left temple, only lightly. The touch lasted only for a few seconds, though, a warm feeling was left behind. It wasn't a hand, nor was it a finger or anything similar like it. It was soft and warm and felt good on his skin. He found himself craving for more of the unknown warmth, leaning into it. The sound of a soft chuckle gave him goose bumps and a breath caressed his right ear as the warmth touched it.

Ryoma's even breathing got out of rhythm for a second as the awareness kicked in. Lips...  
>Lips were kissing his left ear. "Hush, little brother..." Another kiss, only this time on his left eyelid and than on his right one. "...It's fine, just enjoy and stay calm till you're able to move again." It wasn't Tezuka's voice. This angel had a much softer voice.<p>

And he knew only one angel who had such a sweet and poisoning voice - Fuji.

Ryoma had no chance to catch those words as a door got opened and the sound of swinging wings reached his ears. "He's finally awake?" Someone approached him, probably the one who had just asked. The voice was familiar, sounded arrogant and way too proud for his liking. He knew the name of the person, knew how he looked. The picture was in front of his eyes with every little detail - Atobe. "I have taken care of the fallen newborns. Father ordered us to tell him the hidden meaning behind our tradition. He also agreed to our favor."

Taken care of the newborns?  
>It took a couple of seconds for him to actually understand the meaning behind those words. The words echoed in Ryoma's head over and over. The shrieking and scared face of Dan with tears streaming out of his eyes... it all came back to him so suddenly.<p>

Oh god...

Gone was the calm and relaxing mood inside him, gone was the craving for warmth and back crashed the sad and horrific reality.

He had killed someone...  
>He had really...<p>

What had he done?!

His blood rushed out of his head, all color drained from his face and a cold and disgusting aftertaste stayed. He could feel the burning tears in the back of his eyes, slowly welling up to the front. His breathing quickened, his heart speeding up rapidly and beating in a none existing rhythm. He was gasping like a fish out of water. Everything was spinning around in his mind, so many different emotions overwhelmed him. He felt sick and wanted to throw up.

His whole world was upside down.

What was he?  
>Was he still the same person?<p>

Could he still be the same person after doing such a thing?  
>He was a murderer...<p>

He hoped Dan wasn't dead. He hope the newborn was at a quiet and peaceful place, not surrounded by ugly and sadistically angels. He hope his fantasy was true and there really was something like a god, who forgave such sins if the person felt guilty and regretted his mistake, and a true heaven where everything is peaceful and beautiful.

"Keigo!" Fuji hissed and the hands on his arms stopped to stroke, instead, held him in his current position and place. Ryoma felt cold and disgusted, not only of Fuji's hands but also of himself. There wasn't a need to hold him down, even without the brunette's grip Ryoma wouldn't have been able to move away, to shoved the suddenly cold and ugly hands off of him. His body was numb and the scent relaxed his body against his will - the strange dust mixture from Atobe. "Great! Now you have woken him up and shoved him straight back to his horror and we can start from the very beginning again to sooth him!"

Oh god, the voice was too close, far too close. and the heartbeat beneath his ear was surely not his own as this one was beating steadily and not rapidly, out of control and ready to burst out of his chest. The bare thought about his guess being true...

Oh, no... Please anything else than this! His body and mind were already a complete mess.

His head was resting on top of Fuji's chest. The feeling of being watched surrounded him and came especially from the right and left side. The hands running over his wings never stopped and only then did he realize the number of hands on his body. It wasn't only Fuji who was touching him, there were two other pairs of hands as well - one on his left wings and another on his right wing, stroking and massaging his wings. Oh shit...

The other two princes were lying next to him. There was no mistake, so now Ryoma was sure that all four princes were here.

He forced his tired eyes to open, wanted to search for an way to get out of their grip but the numbness in his body made it hard for him to do anything at all. He had no control over his muscles. Nothing moved, no matter what he did.

"Ryoma?" It was Sanada's voice, coming from his right side. "Relax, nothing bad is going to happen."

He would have snorted at those words if his whole being would have been on the edge of staying sane.  
>He was already at the bottom of whatever hell existed here.<p>

"Maybe he had a nightmare, nothing else. He doesn't seem to be awake. And even if he had heard my words and woke up, he shouldn't be so soft-hearted about a useless newborn! It was one, only one single angel who had gotten thrown out. It would have been worse to have the weakling here, letting him infect every angel he gets in contact with."

"Keigo, I can hear his heart beating like crazy and the permanent try to move every part of his body is certainly not a sign for a nightmare." It was spoken so harsh... so cold and full of anger. Absolute silence was the result of Fuji's spoken words. The other angels didn't seem to know how to answer. Or maybe they knew the end if they did. Was every move of him really so perceivable?

The brunette sighed and changed his tone of voice, returned to its softness and calmness. "Can you open your eyes, Ryoma? We would like to explain something to you." There was a small pause before Fuji spoke again, nevertheless, the following words weren't directed at him. "Close the bathroom's door. I think the scent will last long enough for us to talk to him quietly without him being able to throw a tantrum."

Fuji changed position, moved him down from his body and positioned him gently on his spine where the brunette had been only seconds ago while hovering above him on his hands and knees. Sanada and Tezuka also changed position and let go of his wings, but only for a second. Instead of continuing to stroke his wings, the two laid their upper body on them with their full weight which would hinder Ryoma to get out of their reach. He was trapped once more and all he could do was look up at the brunette and listen to the four angels' words. "Please open your eyes and look at us."

He did as he was told, tried it once more but not because Fuji had told him to do so. It didn't really surprise him to find himself in the princes' bedroom in their bed with dark violet covers and pillows, made out of the purest and best silk. The roof of the room was covered in different shades of purple and violet. Nonetheless, even such a beautiful sight couldn't keep him away from his messed up mind.

Wait...  
>He could see….<br>His hands wandered up to his eyes out of instinct, touched the skin under his bright golden orbs carefully. The skin felt normal, like usual, the earlier burning sensations hadn't left any marks. Had it all been an imagination? No, the pain had been too real; the liquid had been on his skin without a doubt. He remembered his hand being covered in a red color after touching his face. It had been there!

"You won't find any wounds on you. Seiichi's dust has already healed all your wounds. You should thank him for his kindness." Ryoma's eyes wandered to Fuji who had just spoken and stood up, walking over to Seiichi - who slept on a couch near the bed - and kissed him on the forehead - like a mother would do by her beloved child. These words, the way the brunette had said them let Ryoma prick up his ears. Anger rose up in him the more he understood the meaning of those cruel words.

"Healed? Thank him for what?" He couldn't help to sound snappish, even with a raspy voice. It was a natural reacted whenever he talked with one of them. "I would thank him if he would have helped me earlier to save Dan instead of letting me kill him because you're such-"

Fuji was faster by his side again than he could watch, the brunette's small hand pressed against his throat and stopped him mid-sentence. "Watch your mouth, Ryoma." Piercing blue eyes glared at him, Fuji's other hand grabbed his chin roughly and pushed his face in Seiichi's direction. The blunette lay on a giant and pillow-crowded couch. "He is just like you. Both of you belong to our family now and it doesn't matter if you want it or not. If it weren't for your wings being so unique, you would be nothing but trash, little brother."

"I'm not your brother! And never will be!"

"Stop! Both of you!" Ryoma twitched by the piercing voice coming from the left, from Sanada who rubbed his temple in annoyance. "If our father wants Ryoma to know the truth and hopes he will change his attitude with it, then let's try it. I'm not someone to doubt the lord and our father."

The blue eyes narrowed dangerously as they glared at Sanada as Fuji spoke. "Are you saying that I don't trust our father?"

"Syu! You know I would never say that! I would never doubt you or father, nor would I do so by Keigo and Kunimitsu! You know this!"

There was a small pause before Fuji sighed in agreement, let go of Ryoma's throat but remained in his position - sitting on Ryoma's hips, watching him. "You're right...alright..." The brunette sighed and as if Ryoma wasn't there, Tezuka and Sanada reached out for Fuji and stroked his cheeks and arms. It seemed to calm him down as he folded his blue wings back together - he had unfolded them probably unconsciously - and let them sink down slowly. There was one moment of bliss shown on the brunette's usually cold, doll-like face, only visible for a blink of an eye.

In the meantime, Atobe had joined Seiichi on the couch and stroke his hair almost playfully. It was strange to see those angels being able to be gentle - it shattered his view of them. He wouldn't have believed it if he hadn't seen it with his own eyes. "…Alright…." Fuji said again and stood up, walked inside the well known bathroom. His blue wings rustled a bit and only then did Ryoma notice the healthy wings. The wound, which he had caused a few days ago, was gone, healed. So Yukimura's dust really had the effect to heal other angels' body. He had no chance to think further about it because Atobe's voice shoved him out of his thoughts.

"Why are you still holding a grudge against us? We have made it clear that your grandmother wasn't killed by us, so what makes you hate us so badly? Who gives you the right to judge us, Ryoma?" Said newborn narrowed his eyes in suspicion and confusion. He didn't like where this conversation was going.

"I don't think there is a necessity to tell me whatever you want to say. I won't believe someone as cruel and heartless as you anyway."

"Always the same words coming out of your mouth. How can you say we're heartless when all you have done so far is wailing and cursing around because of your intolerance. You put us in the same box as those angels who speak badly about you and the other newborns. Have you even given it a single thought that you're pretty racialistic by doing so - judging a whole land by the handful of angels you had met so far? Or even worse, rejecting us because of the rumors going around on earth." Ryoma glared from Sanada to Tezuka. Both were still sitting on his wings while lecturing him. He was getting pissed.

"You have no right to judge other people when you don't know them. Not all angels are bad and cold. You simply see us as cold because you don't know our culture and our way to live. Humans aren't angels and so our culture and behavior are different. For us, the cold behavior is normal, for you it seems cruel. Nevertheless, have you ever thought about the reason behind our actions? Why we act and handle things like we do?"

"Why would I ask a bastard like y-"

"Watch your mouth and think about whom you're speaking to!" Atobe roared and Ryoma was shocked to actually feel pain rising up in his right cheek. The diva had slapped him. Not so hard as to blow his head away, but enough to make him shut his mouth. He was surprised, couldn't hide it in any way. Atobe's voice quieten down again, returned to its usual emotionless sound. "We're not cursing or calling you by any rude names, so why do you?"

Why?

Why was...

The questioned confused him because the answer was so easy and clear, lay straight on the hand.

Why...?!

Because they were cruel... and horrible... egoistic... arrogant... reckless... emotionless...  
>However, Ryoma couldn't say it out loud. The glares which lingered on him made him think twice about his answer. He didn't want to receive another slap and he knew they would do it if he would speak up his mind. The three princes continued to glare at him while the brunette came back from his little trip through the bathroom.<p>

The newborn forced his eyes shut, couldn't bear to see them as he couldn't give them the answer they wanted to hear. Maybe they were right about him believing the words coming from the humans. Nevertheless, he couldn't... Ryoma wasn't able to... it was wrong to...

A flood of feelings overwhelmed him. He felt it coming, the memories from earlier, the fear, the guilt, the anger and the salty tears. No, he wouldn't cry, not in front of them, not in front of an angel. They couldn't be right if he felt like this... so guilty and sad, scared and disgusted of his own.

"Trust and affection is something you need to earn in this world. It's not something we give to everyone and especially not to a newborn. The reason why we're so harsh is because we're not humans, the race you have known for so long." Sanada's soft voice was strange, foreign. The second he felt a hand touching his hair, Ryoma tried to duck away. He didn't want to be touched by any of them. It made his inner turmoil only worse.

His try was useless and caused him a sting coming from his spine as his wings were still held down. Sanada continued to speak through his useless escape. "Humans get sick, some of them even die from a disease. You... a newborn who had lived under those weak and vulnerable beings from the very beginning... how can I say it... your body had changed and adapted itself to survive under those conditions over the last few years."

"Wh-"

"No! Just listen!" It was Tezuka who spoke and continued to explain whatever they wanted to explain to him. Why were they still trying to convince him? "You're finally here at your true home were you should be and your body needs time to adjust again, only this time to the conditions of this world. And that's the moment were we need to be careful because... " Honey brown eyes wandered around and from one brother to another... It was a strange sight to actually see the four princes so speechless.

Fuji was the next one to try his luck. The brunette had sat down at the end of the bed and across of Ryoma. Fuji's view was fixated on something outside the darkened window. "You noticed the other angels catcalling you and especially Dan, right?" Ryoma didn't react and blue eyes turned and stared at him. The brunette didn't wait for a reply. "The reason why every angel wanted you to get ride of Dan Taichi was out of... fear. I guess that's what humans would call it... They're scared because newborns are the ones who are so prone for the illness you have seen on your grandmother. Or better said, those who are too weak and can't leave their human shell - those whose immortality will never get the upper hand bring us death if we don't stop them from the very beginning. The test which you had managed to pass is not only a simple test but also for us to see who is a risk for our folk, whom of the newborns can infect us and our folk with this illness we can not cure, yet."

"In other words those who manage to get used to our rules and learn fast to forget their past are allowed to stay, the others must leave due to the high risk of infection." Atobe shrugged, continued to stroke his new brother's hair - who was still fast asleep - while he spoke in a voice like their talk was nothing more than smalltalk. "The first time we met you, we thought you would be one of those newborns too. But your wings proved us to be wrong."

Ryoma couldn't help but to perk up his ears. It was a surprising reaction and done out of instinct. He already regretted doing it. It would be better to not know too much. The less he knew, the less he could regret.

"All we know is from an old book which our ancestors had left us. The legends says that there are more angels with a pattern on their wings just like yours. But they are so rare and hidden that nobody found one of them before they died. Your lifespan is actually pretty small and your body is very weak and sensitive, including your wings." There was a small pause. Atobe sighed, then chuckled which sounded pretty awkward.

Fuji followed suit, his blue eyes were still staring at him. "But with all the new medical helpers and healers your health shouldn't be a problem any longer. Seiichi will take care of his five brothers and himself, of course. At least he had promised me to do everything I need from him to be allowed to satiate his hunger." The brunette giggled and there was an unknown sparkle in his piercing eyes.

Ryoma narrowed his eyes even more. They counted him to their little hypocritical family again and it frustrated him that they weren't listening to him, nevertheless, he let it slip and gritted his teeth as he didn't want to get hurt once more. He would at least shut up till they released him out of their little trap.

Why healers? He was happy it wasn't for an army or such... Being _born_ in the middle of a war... Ryoma didn't even want to imagine the horror... He shook his head, wanted to get ride of the nightmare. He needed to be careful and on guard whenever he was around them. "So all the newborns are supposed to study medicine?" The words escaped his mouth sooner than his brain could stop him.

"Not all but a lot of them will be educated in it and we'll see if they fit in or not. As we told you, the illness is still spreading over our folk and we can't let it happen that it infects our mother or father, nor us six brothers. You, on the other hand, will study different things before we decide what you should focus on. Well, first of all you'll need to change your being, turn into a pure-blooded angel and leave your human-shell. So for the ti-"

"What do you mean?"

"The more humanity is left inside you, the more vulnerable are you for this disease. We can not take such a risk, little brother."

That...

No...

Atobe couldn't mean...

He didn't...

They wanted him to... forget his whole past?

His precious memories of his parents, his grandmother and friends, his personality?

Everything what made him to the person he was?

No.

NO!

Never!

He couldn't do that! They couldn't force him to forget himself... They couldn't! His jaw hurt from gritting his teeth so hard, the knuckles of his hands turned white from fisting them together. He hadn't even noted doing it, nor had he noticed his shaking form.

"Since when are you counting me as your brother? I don't remember having agreed to something like that and I doubt I would do so even if I were drunk. Do you even listen to yourself? How can you ask me to forget my whole life like it is nothing!" He wouldn't let it happen, he would return to his true home, back to earth and his human parents. He would take Ryoga with him - his brother surely didn't know about all this or he wouldn't dream to be an angel. Even Ryoga was not so brainless as to still wish to be one of their puppets after knowing their plan.

Ryoma tried to free his wings from under Tezuka and Sanada but neither of them moved. Damn it! "Let me go, now!" He knew it was useless. They wouldn't listen to him, they would keep him here, pinned on the soft bed with his wings getting stroked till they were sore from it.

Fuji's and Atobe's expressions changed for the worse with each word which sank in their brain - suppressed anger and probably the desire to punish him were reflected on their faces. Only for a split second though. Their scary expressions changed after they took a deep breath to calm themselves down.

It was Fuji's smirk, the sadistic grin was hidden behind it, which scared Ryoma. The blue-winged angel had something in mind, walked over to a shelf which hang on the wall on the left side of the bathroom's door. Different form and colored bottles were positioned in a row, filled the shelf completely. "Alright, I have enough of you little chaos-prince. Mitsu, Gen, don't give me that look! We tried to be nice but if he doesn't appreciate it then it certainly is not my fault. He's just like Yukimura - arrogant, endlessly stubborn and reckless. I would have already thrown him from the balcony if our mother wouldn't have forbidden it." Fuji picked one bottle and returned to his position at the end of the bed.

Ryoma had no chance to guess what was inside the glassy container as the angel with the blue wings guided the bottle to his lips. A purple liquid was shortly visible before it disappeared in Fuji's mouth. A sweet scent reached Ryoma's nose - nothing like the ones he had smelled, nothing had smelled so strong and piercing.

The little distraction took enough time of his attention for Fuji to kiss him. He yelped out of shock and surprise, giving the wet tongue free room to slip inside his mouth and explore it. The tongue slid along his teeth and prodded his tongue, wanted him to play along.

He couldn't...

Ryoma didn't react at all, he couldn't move. Not believing, not realizing what was happening. Only the taste of something very sweet unfreezed him from his shocked state. Sweet... so very sweet...

Fuji hadn't swallowed...

The sweet smelling liquid was streaming inside his mouth through the kiss, letting him taste the sweetest thing he had ever tasted.

The panic and the adrenaline rushed through his veins in milliseconds and the desire to spit out whatever was in his mouth made him gag. The gentle but forceful strokes of the brunette's fingers over his throat - a silent plead to swallow - increased it. He started to trash around every moveable part of his body, throwing his head in every direction to escape the trap. Fuji couldn't follow his movements and broke the kiss, Nonetheless, his lips were immediately replaced by a hand which held his mouth shut so he couldn't spit the liquid out.

"Swallow it!" The command came from Tezuka, the usually nicest among the group of bastards. Sanada grabbed his chin and pushed his head in his neck, stopped him from trashing around while Fuji continued his try to force him to swallow the liquid. "It's just something to calm you down. Relax and swallow it. It won't hurt you." Forget it. Did Tezuka really think he would listen to him? "Please, Ryoma."

The grip on his chin was unbreakable and grew stronger and tighter till Ryoma feared his bones would break any moment. He whimpered, a sound he hadn't made for years, and tears welled up in his eyes when the need to breathe grew too strong.

Out of the corner of his left eyes, he saw violet eyes narrowing and watching him, telling him silently: _You can not win against them._


	18. The Willed Or Forced Submission

**A/N: Hello guys, sorry for being late again. I got sick for the past two weeks and I'm very, very sorry. As an apologize, **I will update another chapter this Sunday on 15th September.** I hope you can forgive me.  
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**Thanks again for all the great reviews. I'm more than simply happy about you liking my story. Thank you all very much and enjoy the next chapter. ^-^**

**Disclaimer: Do not own anything.  
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><p><strong><em>~~ The Willed Or Forced Submission ~~<br>_**

**_~~ 19. April, Late Night ~~_**

He stared, couldn't break the eye contact between them. Yukimura gaze was like a magnet and puzzled him. Ryoma couldn't look away, not even blinking once. Why did the bluenette believe that it was useless to fight? Wasn't it Yukimura who had wanted to make an alliance with him so they could get out of here after he had gotten this strange dust from one of the princes? What had those bastards done to him to make him change his mind and decision so fast and break his stubbornness?

Ryoma furrowed his brows in remembrance. Hadn't the blue-winged angel, Fuji, said something like _"He will do as we say because he promised me..."_ He would have asked to make sure if only his mouth wouldn't have been filled with this very sweet liquid.

As if Yukimura had understood his unspoken question, he shook his head lightly and closed his eyes once more, probably falling asleep again from whatever they had given him. Was it the same liquid like he had in his mouth right now?

Oh god, what would they do with him if it was the same liquid and he was fast asleep?

The four angels near him noticed their locked gazes and Fuji and Atobe smirked evilly. The finger stroking over the skin of his throat tempted him even more to swallow the little bit of liquid in his mouth and he would have done so, if his eyes wouldn't have been glued on Yukimura, seeing the possible result by submitting.

No, he didn't want to fall asleep without knowing what would happen to him. What would they do?  
>What were they able to do or how far would they dare to go?<br>They had turned him into a murderer. What else would they turn him into?

"Swallow it, Ryoma. It's no use struggling against it. Seiichi has been in the same situation earlier, had refused me and look what had happened to him. Do you want to end like him?" Called newborn struggled with himself, glanced from the sleeping newborn to Atobe, who had spoken, and closed his eyes for a second time so he could think clearly. What could happen if he didn't obey them? "Ryoma, we're not waiting! Decide now!"

His eyes snapped from Fuji to Atobe to Tezuka to Sanada and back to the brunette. Decide? Now? He needed time to think, time to figure himself out and the possibilities he had and could choose. He needed time to get used to the thought about being a murderer. He needed...

"Fine. As you wish, little brother." Fuji stood up from the bed, his hand was immediately replaced by Tezuka's, keeping him from spitting the sweet liquid out. The brunette walked over to the glassy door with the balcony outside, glancing over his shoulder once more with a smirk on his lips. It was one of the things Ryoma did understand. The smirk of an angel was never good and meant never anything good to happen. "We had an agreement, do you remember?"

What was he planning?

Fuji opened the window, spread his beautiful blue wings and said with his head slightly turned in his direction, "You had your chance, Ryoma. If you don't want to break those shackles of your past freely, I'll do it for you. And I think I'll start with the weakest beings who bind you - your parents on earth." And with that the brunette lifted himself in the air and flew down straight to earth, disappearing out of Ryoma's sight.

NO!

HE WOULDN'T DARE TO...

THE BASTARD COULDN'T!

STOP!

NO!

Ryoma trashed his body around, groaned, screamed and whined with his mouth still full and the hand holding his lips shut tight. Tears leaped out of his eyes, the bare thought of his parents getting killed because of him was unbearable, simply cruel and disturbing. He knew he panicked and wasn't thinking rational but what else could he do? This bastard wanted to kill his family, the only part and memory left of his past life, his life as a human!

"Swallow it and we will call him back in an instant." Sanada whispered in his ear. "All you need to do is stop believing in those rumors and make your own opinion of the life you could have here. ...Soon you will see that it isn't so bad as you probably think." The three angels stared at him, waited for his answer.

How long would it take for Fuji to meet his parents and kill them? Was he already there?  
>What else could he do?<br>Swallow the liquid or let his parents die because of his selfishness?  
>Being guilty for not only killing another teenager, a newborn, but also two humans?<p>

No, the thought alone made him sick and sweat from guilt and fear. He couldn't risk it, not his parents' lives. What if they heard about the reason for their death before getting killed? They would never forgive him, he would never be able to forgive himself for doing it! He couldn't do such a thing!

He couldn't risk it... but...

Tears streamed slowly out of the corner of his eyes, sliding down his cheeks and temples, leaving tear tracks behind. Ryoma closed his eyes with force, his heart pained so much inside his chest as if it was smashed or ripped apart. He couldn't breathe... He needed air...He needed time to think... time to search for help...

He...

... swallowed the sweet liquid. Sweetness overwhelmed him and an instant calmness, almost a total, nonetheless, welcoming numbness overwhelmed his muscles and nerves.

The hand above his mouth relaxed after awhile before it disappeared completely, only to slide to his cheek, stroking it gently. So did the hand over his throat but instead of resting on his other cheek it stopped by his hair, petting him almost tenderly. Tezuka and Sanada actually sat up and Ryoma sighed in relief when the heavy weight faded from his wings and the feeling of blood rushing through them once more grew stronger. They were already sore and his spine was hurting from the stillness. Air reached his lungs and he nearly gasped by the refreshing feeling. Nevertheless, the tears never stopped to fall.

Tender fingers ran through his sweaty hair and Tezuka leaned over to him, careful as to not sit on his wings again or hurting him in any way. Warm breath hushed in his ears with a quiet and calm voice, so only Ryoma was able to hear the spoken words. "Hush, little one. It's okay. You won't regret your choice. I can promise you that."

Ryoma glanced up at the speaker through narrowed eyes, staring into honey brown and almost, only almost, warm orbs. "300 year ago, I was the same like you. Always going against them because I too thought of angels being the cruellest beings and never wanted to belong to them, be a part of their race or their family." The hand never stopped to cares his hair, paused for a few seconds just to continue. "However, an angel told me once, I should think about what my parents, my human family had done to me and asked me if the angels were still the cruellest creatures. You need to know that my human parents had chained me up in the cellar to hide me from the angels who were searching for the newborns every 300 years. They had locked the only door and shoved a large wardrobe in front of it, so nobody was able to hear or see me as there had been no windows either. I lived for a few months under the earth in complete darkness. I felt like I had been buried alive under the earth."

A rustling sound reached Ryoma's ears, coming from his left side - the balcony. Someone other stood up from the bed and also a third person walked around in the room. Nonetheless, he was too focused and couldn't view around, couldn't look away from these honey brown eyes. His numb body didn't obey him either.

"My memories about the time back then is fade and blurry but I can remember that it was the worst time I had in all my life, even if I count the last 300 years to it. I still know that my wings had grown but the cellar was too small and I couldn't spread or move them for weeks, so they took on an abnormal shape and remained like that, causing me a lot of pain. My very own family had tried to keep me but they had not wanted me to keep the wings so it didn't matter to them that they grew dispositional. They thought they would be able to simply cut them off of my back."

The brunette leaned back up, stopped his hand from petting him gently. "Only weeks after the time for the newborn collectors ran up did my family free me from my prison, only to separate me from my hurting wings. The knife hadn't been sharp enough and my wings were even after hours of tries still on my spine, though, they had been bloody and injured. From then on I hated and despised my family because I couldn't understand how a parent could hurt and cause such pain to its own child. I would have died from blood loss if not a beautiful angel had heard my cries and rescued me against the king's will king." There was a glimmer in those brown eyes, the memories seemed to replay itself in the angel's mind.

"The angel took me to his home and repaired my broken and distorted wings. He took care of me and taught me many things. He saved me and showed me another side of the angel's world." Tezuka sat up, nonetheless, never broke their eye contact. Back was the emotionless and cold facade, back was the stern expression on his face. Though, there was still something lingering at the very back of his mind, sparkling a little bit in his brown eyes. Ryoma could see it for a few more moments before the last spark also disappeared.

"Now I would like to ask you: Do you still think of us as the cruellest beings after what I have told you and what your parents have done to you? They had nearly killed you because they didn't want to let go and hadn't listened to you, just like my family. Your grandmother's influence wasn't all which lead them to such a decision. It was also theirs... Humans are not so pure as you may think, just like angels they are able to harm and destroy one of their own and they also seek joy out of it."

"Kunimitsu." The called angel turned his head around, looked at his three lovers and nodded, stood up from the bed but turned on his heels one last time and leaned closer again to Ryoma, stopping just a couple of inches before his head. "Here... I think you'll need it more than I do right now... Whenever you want to have some quietness around you, use it as a key and the mirror will open for you. If you don't find it, you can always come to us and ask."

Tezuka's hands knotted something together behind his neck before he let go and stood straight. "Join us if you want. We would welcome it." Without another word he went after his three lovers who had just gone through the door which would certainly lead to a bathroom or another bedroom.

Ryoma glanced down on himself, seeing a clear Lapis Lazuli hanging around his neck in the shape of a tear.

What was the angel thinking?

What were they thinking?

The door shut soundly and let silence enter the room.

"What has he told you to make you yield?" Ryoma turned his head around to the source of noise, viewing into amethyst colored eyes. He felt strangely relaxed and light-headed. Also his train of thoughts slowed down... Strange... "Is that a _Stone of Heaven_? Who gave it to you?" Ryoma blinked, slowly understanding the words. He was puzzled and clueless about what to answer or ask the bluenette. Even the more after he heard, "Well, I think you'll need it more than I do... but I don't understand you. Why have-".

"-You don't have to understand me..." He interrupted and felt the exhaustion coming and tiring him out. It wasn't needed for Yukimura to understand him. He didn't even understand himself anymore. His heart felt strangely light, like all the burden had been lifted from him. Was it the liquids fault?

Probably...

Tezuka's words and the meaning behind them were true, spoken with honesty if Ryoma gave it a little bit of his time to think about its truth. He couldn't deny them completely. War and murder has always been around the humans and also murder within the town where he had lived not long ago, done out of revenge or robbery or just for fun. Maybe his parents had done something horrible to him but...

...no, he couldn't lie to himself...

They had done something cruel and unforgivable. They hadn't listened or asked him what he wanted, hadn't understood him and had nearly killed him out of their selfishness. Nonetheless, he needed to admit that it was also his fault for never speaking his desire and wishes out loud. Perhaps if he had... Maybe then...

Ryoma shook his head. No, he could still remember the pain they had caused him in the night of his birth. Instead of helping him to survive and live, they had wanted to keep him, even if it had meant to turn him into a cripple. The spell of his grandmother hadn't lasted for such a long time and so hadn't worked on his parents all this time. However, they had chosen to hurt him and didn't bring him to a hospital as soon as they could think clear again.

Why had they lied about his grandmother being dead, murdered by angels if she was still alive and had been only dragged away from them because of her mental instability? Why had they lied to him?

So that he would hate the angels and help them to keep him on earth?

Ryoma didn't want to believe it but he couldn't deny it no matter how much he wanted to. The stupid angels had told him the truth... his grandmother wasn't dead, still alive and they also allowed him to visit her and meet up with his brother, though, they threatened him with his brother as bait. Nevertheless, they had never lied to him in this matter, always told him the truth straight in his face.

And they were right in another matter... he had believed in those rumors instead of making his own opinion...

Oh God...

Shit...

He would have a headache by now if the drug wouldn't have already started to work. His eyes burnt but it wasn't due to the injury he had earlier. It was caused by something else... "I would have never thought you would be able to show such a weak side. You're really thinking about submitting to them after hearing the prince's words, right?" Ryoma glared at Yukimura, feeling hot tears welling out of his eyes and blood rushing in his cheeks. He was so confused and tired of lying to himself or anybody else, ashamed of himself and wanted to sleep for a long time till everything was clear and not bounded anymore with complicated emotions and decision.

He didn't want to believe the possible truth, didn't want to apologize to them and ask for forgiveness...

Ryoma had a hard time to suppress the sobs which wanted to escape out of his lips. His mind was in a entire chaos, a mess.

"Lapis Lazuli is indirectly translated as Stone of Heaven. A myth says that the owner of it shall be able to have a clear mind, see the truth and stay by the truth. It shall also give the owner strength to find friendship and alleys." Yukimura's voice was slow and sluggish, even so there was no lecture or disapproval in his tone.

The bluenette bit his lips hard, tried very hard to stay awake and look him in the eyes as he breathed in and out deeply before speaking in a guilty and quiet voice. "Prince Fuji made a deal with me. He will give me the dust if I obey him for at least a whole year. His first order was to help you getting used to the rules and manner in _Amaterasu_."

...

Oh God...

What?!

No more, not today! Ryoma feared for his already messy mind. He couldn't take any more chaos and questions...

The sudden blackness before his eyes was more than welcomed and so was the unconsciousness.

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><p>"Mitsu, what have you told him that made him so quiet? The mixture of Genichirou's and your dust should only numb his muscles and nerves, not his voice or brain like Keigo's dust does it." Syusuke snickered, opened his clothes and undressed. Hot water filled the large bathtub, steam hovered over it the tiles and flew up in the air, made the room foggy in a comfortable way. The blue-winged angel glanced over his right shoulder, seeing the three lustful pairs of eyes watching him. He smiled, stretched out his right hand and invited his lovers to help him undress with one single movement of his fingers. They smirked, grinned and walked up to him without hesitation, fulfilled his wish.<p>

"I have told him about me and the time where I had troubled you in my first couple of months after my birth as an angel. I have also given him my Lapiz Lazuli which you all have given me on my first birthday but I doubt he knows the reason and meaning behind it." Syusuke, Genichirou and Keigo went still, gazed at him with disapproval and something like shock.

"You do remember that the stone can lead him to-"

"Yes, Gen, I haven't forgotten about our secret place. Still I thought it would maybe show him that we try not to manipulate or harm him. I haven't told him exactly where he finds it, just gave him a small hint in the right direction and told him to come to us and ask if he wants to find out more. I'm sure the sight of the paradise we have created will convince and give him a good reason for being an angel."

"You're still so much like before...like a human..."

Kunimitsu undressed himself, followed his other lovers suit, and stood in front of his blue-winged lover inside the large warm pool. "Syusuke, don't see my kindness as a sign for being a human or ill. I'm healthy and-"

"-No, Kunimitsu, that's not what I meant... Feelings are not the trigger, at least not the only one. We four love each other and feel passion, nonetheless, we're all healthy. What I meant was that you're still you... I, for my part, think that I have changed very much over the 600 years I have already lived." Sky blue eyes looked deeply into his brown orbs, waited for his reply. He smiled, pulled his shortest lover against his own naked chest, felt the relaxed blue wings against his skin. The water splashed around them as the other two angels approached them. "It's the amount and the sort of feelings which we feel who may trigger the illness... that's what Inui and Yanagi, our professors about everything, told me. Passion is allowed as we need it to fill up our energy and produce dust."

Kunimitsu kissed Syusuke's forehead and rubbed his thumbs over the small navel, earning a delightful sigh. Their other two lovers took it as a sign to start their love making. Genichirou took the front side of their brown-haired lover and kissed him on the tempting lips, giving in to his desire. Keigo on the other hand was petting Kunimitsu's wings, kissing every part of his skin on his shoulder blades and upwards.

"You got sexier..." He answered and started to stroke the left blue wing, running his nails a little bit deeper over and under the soft feathers. A moan was the reward for it and he continued his ministration, just like his lover wanted it to. "...and more passionate..."

"...and you get much easier jealous..." Answered Genichirou with a smirk and licked Syusuke's throat, biting and sucking on it till a hickey was clearly visible. There would be rumors tomorrow about which angel had fallen for the exotic prince's trap. Nobody knew about their relationship, well except their new brothers which would be invited soon in their little dirty secret. The rumors would go away like always as it wasn't something new.

"...but you're still a beautiful flower... and now let's have a nice bath. I need to wash my wings, they're full of dust and dirt. Nobody wants to see them like this and they need to look good if one of our new brothers joins us." Keigo flipped his hair and rustled with his wings, moved them so they were under the clear warm and cranberry scented water.

"I doubt it, though, it wouldn't damage neither of them to take one after all the stress. It would do them good to stay close to us." Kunimistu stilled and waited if one of his mates got his hint in which the conversation should lead. Sadly, neither Keigo nor Genichirou reacted like he wanted them to, not even Syusuke - his smartest and trickiest mate - understood what he wanted to say and ask. Usually they did it with the smallest hint...

Sanada started to wash Syusuke with a fuzzy piece of elegant cloth, soaping the skin gently while Keigo washed Genichirou's hair with a certain shampoo. All the liquids were made out of their dust or the dust of a dear friend or servant. Only mixed with warm or cold water which filled their secret fountain in their secret paradise.

Well, he would speak directly then like always..."Echizen Ryoma...and Yukimura Seiichi..." Syusuke turned around to him while Keigo and Genichirou stopped their ministrations. "...I think we should take both of them with us to the feast in _Regnum Luna, _the neighbor country."

"Kunimitsu, I don't think it's a very good idea to go to such an important feats with two newborns who don't know our manners and culture so good. Maybe Yukimura could snake his way through all the snobs there but I highly doubt that our youngest brother would pass any test in manners and such. The feast in less than two weeks. The other rulers might see it as insult and cage him in their prison. He is too precious with the wings of his."

"Then why not teach them? I think Mitsu is right. They need to understand their position and their place, especially the little one. Where could they better understand it as by standing in the centre of attention, filled with all different kinds of royal families and rulers of other countries?" Syusuke opened his blue eyes and smirked at Kunimitsu, finding his idea brilliant. "I remember we had done the same to Mitsu and it had changed him very much. If our little brother will-"

"-His name is Ryoma." His mates looked at him in wonder and with narrowed eyes. He was tripping on dangerous and very fragile ground, he could see by the way the three watched him with emotionless faces. Keigo was the first to break the uncomfortable silence. He rustled with his violet wings, water drops flew in every direction.

"Mitsu, do not forget who you are. Even if those two newborns are called inside the royal family, they're still newborns." He walked up to him, put his hands on his face and pulled him closer till their foreheads touched each other gently. "Since when are you so interested in anyone other than us? Because _Ryoma_ is a shadow of yourself when you were young and inexperienced?"

He wanted to say _"So what?"_ but the dangerous glint in his possessive lover's eyes stopped him. Jealousy was one feeling which each angel would recognize immediately. "No, but why do you treat him so differently from how you have treated me when I was a newborn?" Neither of them replied, they all just gazed at him with their brains searching for an answer. "It seems it is not only me who is interested in them otherwise you would react differently."

A warm hand snaked around his waist and pulled him closer to a smaller body. A kiss was planted on his right shoulder blade and goose bumps spread all over his skin from the welcome sensation. "Mitsu is right, Gen, Kei. We all haven't ever seen an angel with the ability to heal injuries or with wings like our youngest brother have. Father ordered us to take care of them personally as they are from now on a part of the royal family and too precious to lose. I think as soon as the drug lessens we should separated Ryoma from Seiichi and turn them into purebloods."

The diva between them snickered, grinned with narrowed eyes. "So not only Kunimitsu but also you, Syusuke?" Neither of the two answered in any way, they simply waited for Keigo to continue. "Fine, do as you like. Gen and I have enough to handle with the other newborns. But be careful, especially when you're with Echizen Ryoma. You won't separated those two newborns nor will one of you practice with them alone. I don't want to have another lover getting hurt by him or his hand."

Keigo stepped out of the bathtub and left without turning back. Kunimitsu understood his diva's mood: Keigo wasn't very happy about their interest in anything else than him or their family. He would accept them inside his family but not as lovers, not so soon. Their little one had hurt one of his precious brothers, Keigo wouldn't forgive Ryoma so fast, not in the next hundred years.

While Genichirou was still uncertain about the result, had his blue-winged lover finally the task he wanted to do. It would at least explain why he would greet a newborn, who had hurt him so badly, with open arms. Usually it was death which Syusuke wanted for those who dared to go against his orders.

He would need to be very careful and always be on guard if he didn't want the newborns to be harmed out of jealousy or pride.


	19. Trying To Accept

**A/N: Hey there guys. Sorry, sorry, sorry, I know I'm late, AGAIN, and I'm really very sorry. I had real trouble writing this chapter and I'm still not satisfied with it entirely but I wanted to give you the promised chapter. **

**I apologize for breaking my promise. I'm horrible, I know, and I feel very guilty for it. I'm so very sorry!**

**So now enjoy the belayed chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

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><p><strong><em>~~ Trying To Accept ~~<em>******

**_~~ 20. April, Early Morning ~~_**

Ryoma stirred awake from his deep slumber when his wings began to move by itself, swinging softly in the air, breaking the silence with their rustling noises. It was somehow a very soothing sound, not disturbing or annoying but lulling and relaxing. The soft pillow underneath his right cheek and the warm blanket covering his whole body till his neck were so cosy and heavenly that it wasn't hard for him to decide wherever to wake up and open his eyes or continue sleeping. It was far too comfortable, too good to reject or refuse, so he moved his head to the other direction, sleeping on his left cheek and took a deep breath and inhaled the sweet scent which lingered in the air. He was so tired and exhausted...

He was almost deep asleep again as a low but quite strong breeze of wind streamed inside the room and chilled his heated body, cooling it. Ryoma groaned and shivered hard by the sudden coolness. He tried to ignore it and wanted to continue his sleeping but his wings taught him other as they startled out of their soothing and calming swinging and began to move rapidly like they wanted to fly away - with him. He groaned once more as his wings pushed the cosy blanket away with their stirrings and the chilly wind had now free access to his body which wasn't packed in the dirty and ripped clothes anymore.

"Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to wake you." A soft voice spoke and seemed to close the window or door because the chilly breeze stopped to intrude inside the room and freeze his skin and bones. Ryoma moaned as a reply, fished with his hands for the warming and sheltering blanket, nevertheless, he didn't find it and groaned in annoyance. He forced his tired eyes to open and focus on his surroundings, searching for the damn blanket. Man, it was cold here... "Maybe you should get dressed as well? I'm sure the princes will be here soon enough and you wouldn't want them to see you naked, though, I'm pretty sure they have already seen everything when they had undressed you."

"Huh?" His brain wasn't ready to work so early in the morning, not understanding the connection and the meaning behind these words. One look outside the damn glassy wall and he saw the early sun slowly rising up, streaming the heat with her sunshine over this world - wherever this place was. The speaker chuckled and approached him. Ryoma knew, even when there was no sound of steps. It was the sound of wings swinging and also the movement of his own wings which told him the stranger's arrival. His wings moved in the same rhythm as the other angel's wings. Again as Ryoma recognized and scolded himself for it. He needed to get some control over them now that he wanted to...

...Since he's going to stay he would want to...

Well, what did he want now?  
>Everything has changed since yesterday... His entire mind is standing upside down...<p>

Oh, shit...  
>And now he understood why his brain didn't want to work... the chaos came back crashing into his mind... scenes from last night... the kiss... the sweet liquid...broken pieces of memories...the talk... the exhaustion and the welcome blackness...<p>

Oh, God...

He needed to calm down if he wanted to clear this mess without getting a massive headache!

The person reached him and stopped right before him, threw something onto the bed and beside his face. It took him a minute to recognize this something as clothes. At least it looked like clothes - the little bit of cloth sewed together couldn't be enough to cover his body like the other clothes did. "Here, it was put on the table and from the size of it, I guess, it's meant for you."

Ryoma finally identified the owner of the voice as Yukimura, now that he could look at his strangely very beautiful face... The bluenette must have changed over the night or was it simply his imagination? The bluenette was wearing the same Chinese dress, though, Ryoma couldn't say if it had been so short the other time he saw it or if it was shorter now.

Oh man, what the hell was he thinking?  
>Now wasn't the time for such thoughts!<p>

When Yukimura's stare grew too intensive, Ryoma also noticed the position he was currently in and forgot to argument over the insult of his height.

He was naked, damn it! Since when was he naked? He had some clothes on the last time he was awake and now he was... had they undressed him while he was asleep? Those bastards!

He grabbed the clothes hurriedly, his cheek flamed in a bright pink. Yukimura's stare was directed directly at his naked body, his dark violet orbs wandered from his head to toe slowly and Ryoma felt like he was under some kind of x-ray screen. "What are you staring at?" Yukimura shook his head violently as if he hadn't noted his own staring. His cheek also darkened in a pink color and he turned on his heels, looked out of the glassy wall and downwards.

Ryoma needed three times to put the clothes on correctly, having a few troubles with the way they were put on correctly. It were the same clothes like he had yesterday, the same black bodysuit with the white tunic which had the same pattern on it like his wings and a large golden belt. The only difference was the length. Before it had gone barely - but at least - till his knees, now it ended way above his knees, nearly under his butt. Luckily, the tunic was now longer and ended under his butt, hiding his private part.

It was strangely beautiful, still the tightness of the bodysuit was less comfortable or soothing as it felt like he had a second skin over his own and not some piece of cloth. He would need to get used to it... if he would... as he was staying here?!

He was staying here, wasn't he?

Well, after what the prince had said... after giving it a second thought... They were right, Ryoma couldn't deny it. Neither did he want to because it would mean lying to himself. These bastards were right; humans could be as cruel as angels, but surely not soo much as angels, nonetheless, it was still more than he would have ever believed. He did judge the whole world, a whole race, just by rumors and not by his own opinion. He did and he couldn't help but feel pathetic by doing so when he had never wanted to be like that. He had nagged and scolded his old human classmates whenever they had judged a newcomer to their class by his appearance or the rumors coming from the old school.

Now he was one of those idiots himself, always reaction due to the words and stories others had told him which he had believed without a second thought, without asking for the source.

Yeah, he would stay here. He hadn't any other choice as his brother was still here and...

...Where exactly was his brother right now? The angels had told him earlier Ryoga was in the other bedroom right next door. It was one of the last things Ryoma wanted to do but he owned his brother an apologize too for all the yelling and cursing over his stupid wish. He hadn't reacted like a family, like a brother should have, even if he was the younger brother...

His wings moved and swung, lifted him from his feet by the bare thought about his brother. He was kept in the air, although, his balance was horrible and he was wavering around quite dangerously. It was more than enough for him to actually not fall down onto his butt. All he needed to do now was moving forward and reaching the door next to him. The question was just - how?

He had flown before but there had been other angels forcing or shoving him forward or charmed him to fly with his eyes closed and listening to the other wings' movements. Both options fell apart because Yukimura wouldn't forced him to his brother, neither did he want to ask, nor would he fly now. They were the only angels around in the room, nobody else.

"Your brother has left the room long ago. If that is what you're searching for or what you expect to see behind the door." Yukimura watched him from over his shoulders. Ryoma was opening his mouth to ask where or why his brother had left the place when the bluenette was already speaking anew. "It wouldn't be good if other newborns or angels saw him staying in the palace when there is no reason for it, so the princes woke him up and guided him back to his dorm. Both of us have been accepted into the royal family, but Ryoga was not, so there is no reason for him to sleep or live here. You need to understand that your bond as brothers doesn't exist here, nor does the bond to your human parents."

"What do you mean?"

"You are different from him, even when you two have been born by the same woman you're not brothers here anymore in this world because your wings show us different. You would have been brothers if both of you had the same pattern on your wings. But you don't. Your pattern is the rarest among the angels, Ryoga's is not, it's common."

"Why do you know so much about all this?" Instead of a reply, Yukimura turned his head away and viewed out of the window, saying with a clear voice: "The princes are on their way, I can already see them flying outside the palace." The other newborn ditched his question, ignored it as if he had never asked. Strange…. Maybe he hadn't heard him?

"Why do you know so much about this world and everything? I'm certain not even my brother knows about all this crap! So why do you? Something like this is only revealed to angels or not? I doubt any human or any newborn in fact knows so much like you. Why?" Again, Yukimura ignored him and stayed silent. The bluenette flew up to the glassy wall and opened the door to the balcony another time. "We should go. They are waiting for us at the balcony."

"What's wrong with you?" Ryoma mumbled snappish and crossed his hands over his chest, pouting.

"You're asking too many questions!" Yukimura turned around with his wings keeping him in the air steadily. His narrowed eyes were cold and filled with distance emotions which Ryoma couldn't quite catch. "I know so much because I do!"

"And you're not giving me any answers! You said I should accept my life here, well, I try to understand all the shit going on around me!" Ryoma snapped back, his wings swinging in anger.

"You don't understand anything!" Now it was Yukimura's time to snap, however, his voice sounded strange... not the tone he had before but different... darker or perhaps deeper? It was calm and composed, not loud and wild like it should be if he was angry or annoyed...

"I told you, I try! How would you react if you suddenly realize that the creatures, you despise the most, are correct if they tell you that your entire life was one big lie and nothing more and you start to understand that all what you have done and believed in is wrong and a big mistake! How the hell would you feel after realizing what your parents have done or would have done if those bas-... if they hadn't come!"

"Then maybe we can help you with your doubts and questions?" Ryoma turned around, found himself in the center of attention. The princes had flown inside the room, surrounded them and hovered an inch above the ground. When had they come in? "Come with us. Some of us need to meet up with our father and others have an appointment but we can tell you whatever you want to know afterwards." Tezuka moved closer to him, reached out his hand and stared at him with the cold facade he wore every time Ryoma met him. However, there was this lingering spark from yesterday again, hidden in the very far corner of those honey brown eyes.

Should he take it? What else could he lose?

Ryoma closed his eyes and reminded himself to be nice and not partisan. He wanted to try, wanted to make his own opinion! It would need time for him to actually stop hating and cursing at them. It would take a lot more time for him to trust them and earn their trust - if he wanted to have their trust?!

He hesitated for another moment before gripping the outstretched hand and releasing his breath which he had held in unconsciously. He hoped he had made the right decision or had he simply been manipulated?

His wings had never stopped swinging, held him in the air and now as Tezuka pulled at his hand a little bit, it wasn't so hard to keep up with them, flying beside them. They flew out of the room and up, forward to another building which was hidden behind a mountain of clouds. Guards stood here and there, probably watching out for whatever or stood patrol, and were the only sign of live inside the clouds.

Ryoma couldn't count them all as he was forced lightly to keep up with the prince's pace, nevertheless, it were certainly more than ten angels at one side. There were also guards inside the building.

They flew along a long and large corridor, made out of the finest marble. Pillars stood in a continuing Z form, steadied the heavy roof top. There were eight portraits in total hanging on the walls, three on the left side and five on the right. He recognized the pictures on the right as portraits of the three princes. Atobe's picture was on the left side with the king and the queens.

"Come here. We're going this way." Tezuka whispered to him and the grip around his hand tightened, had never let go since the beginning and Ryoma felt a strong heartbeat through their connection. Was it his own or...?  
>The hand was warm and firm, promised strangely the safety he needed right now. He noticed the nod between Atobe and Fuji but also between Sanada and Tezuka just barely as he was too focused on his surroundings. "Seiichi, follow our brothers. Ryoma, come with us."<p>

The separation was so soon, he wouldn't have been able to follow if his hand wouldn't have been in the tight grip. Atobe and Sanada were soon out of sight while Fuji slowed down a bit and flew onto Ryoma's free side. "Seiichi knows so much about angels because his parents had tried to keep him too, just like your parents did. However, Seiichi is a whole different story."

Ryoma viewed at the brunette with the blue wings, listened for once in awhile without cutting anybody off mid-sentence. Fuji continued. "I found or better said saved him from being murdered. He had built his house near the woods where he had hidden an abandoned angel and healed him with human medicine, at least he tried. The angel had taught Seiichi everything, told him about manners, culture and also about our secrets."

They turned left twice before reaching the end of the very long corridor. The two princes stopped and swayed in the air with him staying in the middle. "Seiichi had no family on earth but so relied on the old angel, listened and learned from him. We don't know if the angel had know about Seiichi's change and birth or if he had simply broken tones of rules because he knew he would be dead one way or another."

The thought about the old angel getting killed by one of the princes who stood next to him made him shiver violently. Ryoma had no chance to suppress it and the two saw it clearly if not, then did Tezuka feel it through their connected hands. "If the humans knew about our weaknesses then they would use it to keep the newborns to themselves and I think you can guess what will happen to the newborns if we can't get them anymore?"

Yeah, he did know... they would probably die... just like he had... nearly...

The door got opened by a servant and revealed a large, very large, hall in the form of a ball. Ryoma was stunned and amazed at its beauty. It looked absolutely amazing.

Fuji was the first to fly inside. The brunette turned around and reached out for his hand. "You'll, just like us, take part at the feast in Regnum Luna which is in less than two week. Till then you need to have gained control over your wings and also over your body. You need to learn to speak and communicate like an angel and also act like one. This includes dancing as well and this is where we will start for today because you'll learn to control your wings there easily."

The wide evil grin and the glimmer in Fuji's blue eyes promised torture for Ryoma. He had never been a friend of dancing or chatting.


	20. A Handful Of Changes

**A/N: Sorry guys for the long wait! Thanks for your great patience, reviews, favorites and trust. I really, really appreciate it! ^-^  
>I hope you enjoy the chapter and I haven't disappointed you. The next chapter is already in work and will be probably out at the end of the next week.<br>**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

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><p><em><strong>~~ A Handful Of Changes ~~<strong>_

_**~~ 26. April, Late Afternoon ~~**_

His heart was racing, hammering in his chest as he listened to the music with his closed eyes, focused on the rhythm and let it guide him while he hoped dearly he wouldn't make the same mistake again like the last time. He wouldn't survive another fall, another hard impact with the ground and the sound of his breaking bones.

His body healed quickly whenever the princes allowed him to bathe in the hot water with the mixture of Yukimura's dust which didn't happen very often. It was a pretty rare, seldom opportunity and only allow when he had a very bloody and bone shattering injury. However, Ryoma wasn't so lucky most of the time and his mistakes caused him only light bruises, so he was forced to help himself with the pain and the discomfort while he tried to fall asleep in his own extra large bed with dark blue satin sheets and pillows.

It had surprised him when the bas-... the princes gave him his own room which was connected to a heavenly large bathroom. Though, the bathroom had another door at the opposite side which would lead him to the princes bedroom. He didn't like the thought of the bas-... them entering his room whenever they liked but he was grateful enough that he didn't need to share the bed with one of them, even when the four slept in one room. At least he had seen all four princes walking into their room together in their sleepwear.

The music stopped abruptly and Ryoma couldn't stop his wings as fast as the silence flooded the ballroom, having been distracted by his deep thoughts. He slowed the movement of his body and his wings down, lost his balance as his wings swung wildly and slightly uncontrolled in the air. All his muscles were tense and hypersensitive, waiting for the already very known incoming crash and the following pain and agony.

The dancing part was, which Ryoma would never say out loud, quite fun. He had actually dusted his wings yesterday as he had forgotten everything around him, had only focused on the dance. It had been a fatal mistake to assume nobody noticed. The Cheshire cat like grin on Atobe's and also Fuji's face told him enough. At least they hadn't made any comment about it... for now.

Though, the dance would be much better if they would stop such attacks and tests. They stopped abruptly on purpose, would do such a mean thing every now and then just to test his abilities, his power and strength in his wings and his control over his own body.

_Calm down, relax and focus,_ he told himself and took a deep breath, furrowed his brows in concentration and focused on his own body, tried to relax. His right hands still rested on his dancing partner's shoulder, gripped the cloth beneath it as his left hand squeezed the other angel's right hand tightly. There would be nail prints left on his partner's flesh as soon as they would part but he didn't care.

It was their fault for doing things like stopping so suddenly, so they needed to take responsibility for it!

"Good. Much better!"

Ryoma took another deep breath and wanted to release it, continue to dance. At least he was getting ready for the continuation. Then, all of a sudden, his stepping stone let go and disappeared for a second before returning shortly after. Thankfully, his pair of wings held him up or he would have fallen.

Nevertheless, the hand on his hips and in his hand didn't return, instead, something soft touched his forehead, the place right in between his furrowed brows.

"Perfect."

The contact was foreign, never had they done something like this before...

The simple contact, unknown and foreign and shocking at the same time, shoved him out of his focus and let him lose his balance entirely. Ryoma couldn't hold back the gasp of panic and shock, falling down instantly.

There wasn't even enough time to scream...

The impact was horrible, even more than he had already felt. He heard his bones cracking, something broke or shattered and the crashing pain forced all the air out of his lungs, left him no sound and no oxygen for the scream which wanted to escape out of his lips. He tasted blood and felt the warm liquid streaming down his temple and cheek, turning slowly into a puddle on the ground. His body shook furiously from the shock, the panic and the pain. The noises around him sounded almost muffled and dull as something was blocking his right ear.

Soft wind told him the arrival of the princes. Tender and slender hands touched his right shoulder lightly but determined and someone else called his name. At any rate Ryoma thought it was his name...

Everything sounded muffled more and more. Like getting called from far away.

His head hurt strongly.

Tezuka came into his blurry view, reached out for him and the pain subsided slowly but steadily as soon as the angel touched his forehead with his cool fingertips. The fingers felt dampish and slippery, slid from his forehead along his left temple, his cheek and rested finally on his chin.

"Can you hear us now, Ryoma?" Said angel hummed quietly in agreement, enjoyed the feeling of the pain turning numb and the incoming quietness around him. He opened his eyes slowly and carefully, afraid something might slide in and hurt them. He didn't know since when he had closed them.

The sight in front of him was quite satisfying. His new so called brother was on the ground too, breathing harshly through his mouth as blood streamed out of his head and left ear, formed a small puddle around his head. His left arm rested in a unnatural angle and his face was crunched together in pain. The other newborn had fallen down pretty hard, probably having lost the entire control over his wings and crshed down with full force.

Yukimura was also forced to learn to dance in the air as it was something which he still did not know about and Ryoma was happy whenever the other newborn would make a mistake. He wasn't happy to see someone else in pain neither was he jealous about Yukimura's knowledge and the thereby praises from the bas-.. the princes. He didn't care if they thought he was good and praise him for his fast learning. He just didn't like to lose... to nobody... and the violet-winged newborn always glared at him in competition. Like he had done today before their dance lessons had started.

Like a silent appeal to a challenge.

It was also the fact that the mistakes, no matter how small or big they were, remembered Ryoma of one unshakable fact - Yukimura was still a newborn, too. He wasn't the perfect image of an angel like he wanted others to see him - like he wanted Ryoma to see him.

Hands grabbed around his waist, shoulder and knees. Someone lifted him up, carried him bridal style. He would have protested if his whole body wouldn't have felt so weak and jelly like.

His head didn't find it so good though and his sight blackened immediately. The sound around him deafened once again as some liquid slid into his ear. "Kei, be careful. He's already losing consciousness. We need to fix his injury quickly otherwise the healing process will take too long. Thankfully he has only minor injuries. Mitsu, don't let go of their hands, it should numb the pain long enough till we reach our bedroom."

"Saa, Gen, you're quite worried about them, aren't you?"

"Syusuke, they are newborns and won't heal as quickly as we do."

"So?"

"So? The feast is in five days and both has still trouble and problems with the lessons. Yukimura makes the same mistake over and over, always using too much power to swing around while Ryoma still has trouble with his way of speaking and the manners."

"I doubt anybody will actually notice the small mistakes he still makes. The other angels and other creature from _Regnum Luna_ will be stunned and left speechless as soon as they see his wings with this unique pattern. Our youngest brother will be the center of attention." Fuji chuckled and Ryoma guessed it was him who stroked his hair out of his face and smeared the blood, which lingered dangerously over his eyes and dared to stream down, away.

He gagged and caught up as blood streamed unexpectly into his mouth. His head was immediately held up by gentle hands. "Shh, little brother. We'll help you, just rely on us."

His last moment of sight showed him three pairs of eyes watching him with an emotion Ryoma couldn't catch nor interpret. Yukimura was already unconscious.

_**~~ 26. April, Early Night ~~**_

Ryoma stirred awake from the hushed conversation and the dimmed light around him. The sound of a heavy door falling close woke him up completely. The following yawn was unstoppable and so was the reaction to stretch his whole body. He took a deep breath, sniffed the air and was glad to not smell the already very familiar scent which calmed him down and turned him into a boneless being.

His outstretched hands collided with something warm and soft. He jolted his hands back to his own body out of reaction and snapped his golden eyes open. He should have known it!

They would let him sleep in his own bed but he was never alone whenever he woke up. At least one of them was there to greet him or wake him up. These daily wake up calls were... surprisingly gentle if Ryoma compared them with their other reactions and movements. Nevertheless, this strange and sometimes really scary gentleness would burst like a bubble sooner than later and was usually replaced by the neutral masks on their faces in a blink of an eye.

Amethyst colored eyes watched him closely from the other side of the bed as he began to understand his surroundings.

Holy...

He jumped and sat up, hissed from the intense jolt of pain which forced him to lie down on his stomach once more. His left wing felt heavy, numb and foreign. A radiating sting came from his injured wing and he groaned out loud. "Damn..." He waited till the pain subsided before daring to view at Yukimura. The sight was surprising and quite satisfying.

There were bandages around Yukimura's right wing and his right foot. So the oh-so-strong newborn wasn't so strong, brave and prince-like anymore. It was mean, Ryoma knew and understood that he shouldn't feel so relieved and great as it wasn't an official competition between them about being the better angel from the outside or inside.

It was just...

If anybody realy, realy wanted to know his true feelings...

Well... only if someones would break his stubborn attitude...

He would admit it... maybe...

The green-eyed monsters called _envy_ and _ambition _would get the better hand on him sometimes and especially at times like this.  
>He was happy to see the other newborn's weakness. It made him even more happy to know that he was better in dancing than the violet-winged newborn. The last dancing lessons were proof enough for him.<p>

"What are you grinning for?" Yukimura's harsh voice knocked him out of his thoughts. Nothing was left of the usually calm, composed and soft tune.

"Nothing." Ryoma answered and couldn't suppress the grin no matter how hard he tried to erase it from his face. The violet-winged newborn watched him with narrowed eyes as he began to slowly sit up and move his wings carefully. Glad that he could turn his backside to Yukimura and hide his smirk. Nevertheless, the other newborn noticed it.

"You think just because you haven't fallen down so hard and hurt yourself as bad as I have, you're better than me bu-"

"Which I actually am. At least in dancing."

"Just dancing and it won't last long."

"Mhmm..."

"What was it?"

"Nothing."

"You don't actually believe you're better than me, do you?"

"I don't believe it, I know it. The proof is right in front of me."

"Okay. How about a dance? I'll take the lead, you'll follow. It shouldn't be a problem since you're still smaller and younger than me."

The words _"and always take the role of the pasiv dancer"_ weren't spoken out loud but Ryoma had seen them on Yukimura's lips nonetheless. It had wondered him too why the ba- ... the princes would teach him how to dance but not as a leading partner, like a male should be. He was the passiv dancer all the time.

"Mada mada dane."

"We'll see." Yukimura stood up, hissed in pain but straightened his spine, nevertheless, and walked up in the middle of the room. Yukimura took a deep breath, closed his beautiful orbs for a moment and seemed to focus on something strongly. A minute past and Ryoma was close to ask if the other newborn had fallen unconscious or asleep when Yukimura loosened the bandages. He followed his older brother's lead with a smirk and loosened the bandages, ripped them off of his wings. The bandage around his head was left untouched. Better not to rush it too much. "Ready?"

Ryoma had no chance to answer as his partner started the dance, swinging them both up in the air with two strong swings of his wings. Yukimura grimaced and clenched his teeth together. But he didn't stop, continued unyieldingly. The youngest newborn was forced to follow as the violet-winged angel already had his hands in position around his waist and hand.

They danced, really danced without music and Ryoma couldn't believe how well they danced together. Swirling around in the air like some kind of fairytale. Their wings swung in one rhythm. Their gentle swings were light and sharp at the same time, having enough force to stay in the air but not move up.

Ryoma closed his eyes, not knowing where to look at. Surely not into Yukimura's eyes. It would only distract him to view into someone else's eyes, trying to read his mind. His brother, on the other hand, had no shame or problem with it, staring straight into his face.

"You're trying pretty hard for someone who had wanted to leave this land and life as hurriedly as possible just a couple of days ago."

"Mhm..."

Silence surrounded them once more. Both of them concentrating on their steps and movements, till the violet-winged newborn began to speak once again.

"What made you change your mind?"

"Do you still wish and desire the same like a week ago?"

"You don't?" Yukimura questioned and nearly made them fall as his wings hadn't moved like they should have.

"Shit! Watch out!"

"Answer my question."

"Who knows. Focus on the dance!"

"What does it mean?"

"You're asking too many questions." Ryoma smirked, faced the other with piercing eyes, feeling proud to contra Yukimura's question the same way with the same words he had given him when he had asked about his large knowledge of angels.

"What a surprising sight, ahh." Atobe entered the room, a tablet filled with different colored and sized bottles in his hands. The other princes followed closely behind. Both newborns stumbled away from each other, blushing and looking away, not daring to view into any of the princes' eyes as they landed gently on the marble ground. Atobe smirked, putting the tablet on a near table which was surrounded by large loveseats. "You can continue if you want."

"Saa, I think it's enough for today, Keigo. They shouldn't strain their bodies too much." Fuji sat down on the bed and gazed at them with piercing blue eyes. "Ryoma." Said newborn glanced at the speaker, stunned to see an hairbrush looking like a sponge in his left hand. "Your injured wing needs to get treated." The blue-winged angel beckoned to him with his forefinger.

No!

No matter how good they have treated him so far, he had always been alone to treat his wounds and it had been good this way. No way was he showing them his weakness. Trust was something he needed to earn from them, so why should he bestow his trust to them? His wings were far too sensitive and Ryoma didn't doubt for a seconds that Fuji wouldn't hesitate to get his revenge for ripping out his beautiful blue feathers back then.

"No." The word left his mouth, escaped out of his lips before he had even thought about saying it. Blue eyes narrowed dangerously, waited for him to apologize and obey. "My wing is fine." Ryoma tried anew, hoping this excuse would ease the angel's mood.

No such luck.

"Still not trusting us."

Again, his mouth was faster than his brain.

"Trust is something you earn and doesn't get bestowed. Weren't that your words exactly?"

The room was silent for a moment, only the rustling sounds of their wings echoed in the room. Genichirou laughed and smiled at his brothers before his stoic mask was back and he spoke up. "That were your words, Syusuke, and he is right." However, it weren't the words Fuji wanted to hear. Ryoma could see it at the way Fuji's eyes slid close very carefully and slowly while he gritted his teeth, clenched them together very focrefully.

"Fine..." The one word came out in a hiss. "...Then how about you brushing my wings?"

"Me?! Why?!" Ryoma was left speechless. He hadn't thought about such an option.

Never.

"Is there a problem?" It actually took him a minute to reply and get his calmness back. "Are you really so trusting? Aren't you afraid that I will rip out your feathers one more time?"

"Is there any reason for it?" Ryoma blinked, let his gaze and hands wander over his hurt wing and his still hurting head and back to Fuji. "The injuries come from practice not because I hurt you on purpose."

Nice ditch. He really needed to give the angel that praise. Fuji was a master in ditching uncomfortable questions and changing the matter to his win. "So it's okay if I throw a javelin out of the room and hit someone with it because it had happened in my training lesson?"

Atobe snorted while Sanada and Tezuka watched him quietly. The blue-winged angel swalloed down whatever he had wanted to say, releasing a breath out of his nose.

"Ryoma, come here."

"..."

"Ryoma..."

His mouth would have hit the ground in disbelief if he hadn't heard and seen the words coming out of this forbidden lips. "There is no reason for you to fear us, nor do I need to be afraid that you'll harm me because I know you won't."

The newborn in question rose an eyebrow.

What made the angel so sure?

"You haven't cursed at us out loud in the last three days and you have begun to address us by our last names. You have also put a lot of effort in your studies. If you were still the meaning we're the cruellest beings and would want to escape, then you wouldn't do such things." The speech made Ryoma blush and left him feeling exposed, even if he didn't know for himself if it was true. "And besides..." Fuji continued."...you haven't touched the wings of another angel yet, have you? Why not try it without risking anything?"

Fuji was still holding the sponge in his outstretched hand, presenting the item to him. "What have you to lose by doing it? Why are you thinking so much?"


	21. A Compromise Over Your Feelings

**A/N: This chapter is especially for Saichi (Kazugami Saichi Hakuraichi) as an apology for the lateness of the last chapter. I'm sorry and I hope you can forgive me! Thanks for the review. I hope this chapter will be more than "okay". ^-^  
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at Puppiesssss:**  
><strong>Wow, I was stunned after reading your emotional and long reviews. A special thanks for reading and reviewing! And thank god you still like it and hasn't stopped reading midway because I think you'll like this chapter! At least I hope you and everybody else does. By the way, your very long review had actually changed the plot a little bit. Thanks for the inspiration. ^-^ Enjoy!**  
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**I want to thank those people and really faithful readers too who are still with me and read and review my stories!  
>Hope you all enjoy the new chapter and it's not too out of character...<strong>

**Disclaimer: Do not own anything.**

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><p><strong>~~ A Compromise Over Your Feelings ~~<strong>

**~~ 26. April, Early Night ~~**

What had he to lose?

His wings and feathers...  
>his pride...<br>his current point of view...

He had already lost his past.

Ryoma hesitated, glanced from one angel to another, thinking over the few choices he had.  
>Not going and leaving his own bedroom was out of questions as he had no other room to sleep in. Though, he surely would find a place to escape for a few hours. Going to them was also out of questions as his fright to lose his wings or feel any kind of pain was far too big. The bare thought gave him an icy cold chill and froze his heart. Maybe he should pull one of the loveseats in front of the bed and then he could think about watching the angels or helping them later on...<p>

Holy...

What was he thinking?

A second ago, he was rejecting their offer to let them take care of his wings and a second later he wants to treat them?

How messed up was he?

The last couple of days had thrown his point of view into chaos and re-sorted it anew. However, old habits die hard. Some things didn't seem to be so cruel as they had been before but some other things were all the more cruel. The memories of death, Dan's death, were haunting him whenever he wasn't exhausted from all the exercises or when his mind wasn't occupied with learning the different manners and such stuff.

Someone took a deep breath and cleared his throat, shoved him out of his thoughts and startled him. Yukimura released the inhaled breath and got his composed attitude back in a blink of an eye - the fake mask of perfection was back on. If Ryoma hadn't seen the mistakes the newborn had made in the time of their dance, he would have believed this mask was actually true. Luckily it was not.

The newborn walked past Ryoma with a quite arrogant and very confident smile on his face and sat down in front of Atobe, who sat in one of the large loveseats, and let his injured wing get treated by the purple-winged angel. The dark violet-winged newborn had already gotten used to his new position as an adopted son of the royal family, the fifth prince. And Ryoma saw it right then, Yukimura already understood how to handle their new brothers, too.

Tezuka was, all the while, sitting behind Fuji on the bed, making himself comfortable and gazing at Ryoma directly through his glasses with a strange glimmer in his brown eyes. Sanada stood right in front of a large mirror, brushing his wings carefully. His orbs, however, were resting on Ryoma too. The gaze was almost piercing and taxing through the mirror. Fuji, on the other hand, was still waiting patiently for his reply, the brush resting in his outstretched hand all the time.

Yukimura watched him with a lifted brow, asking silently why he wasn't doing the same and let the bas- ...the princes treat his wounds.

He couldn't breathe...

Couldn't decided what to do...

His golden eyes wandered around the room from one angel to another, full of uncertainty which he tried to hide with all available means. No more showing weakness to anybody!

Those amethyst colored eyes changed from questioning to challenging as Yukimura saw his secret, the insecureness inside him, and took full advantage of it by smirking at him in knowledge. So their little challenge from a moment ago was still on?

Ryoma clenched his lips together, gritted his teeth. He needed space and time to think before he trusted anybody again and allowed the person near his weakness or his wings.

The newborn put one foot after another, staring directly at Yukimura and turned on his heels after his final step, opened the door and walked out onto the balcony. The fresh night air breezed calmly around him and soothed his aching head. He shut the glassy door forcefully but silently, hoping it would stay this way.

His hope was in vain and shattered immediately, even before the thought had been finished in his mind.

"Ryoma?" He ignored the voice, headed to the stony balcony rail, leaned his arms and elbows against it and let his head hung down, taking deep breaths. His wings lifted themselves up around him like a shield, covered him from the approaching angel's sight who was now standing on his left side. His whole body hurt, ached from the horrified training in the last couple of days and his head and mind were driving him nuts.

The entire last week had he asked himself so many questions, new and old ones, but never did he receive any replies nor did he got to any kind of solution. He needed to speak with his parents for it but leaving wasn't an option as he hadn't been allowed outside, except for the balcony, of course. But the princes or the guards would catch him in no time if he did dare to fly away alone. Neither did he know where the exit or the entrance to earth was...

The dancing lessons were the one thing which Ryoma had started to like and hate at the same time. It had been great and fun to fly rhythmically in the air, nevertheless, the fear and the overwhelming uncertainty which he had with each dance made it miserable and frightening. The impacts, the pain - it all hindered him from really enjoying something. He couldn't keep up like this another day, he could feel it.

He wanted to have fun without the fear or anger always sitting and waiting behind his shoulder or in his neck. He wanted freedom! He wanted his parents, wanted to ask them what he had done wrong and if they had really been so horrible as to mutilate their own son!

Without even realizing it, Ryoma felt the tears running down his cheeks. He could barely suppress the growing sobs inside his throat but the tears were unstoppable. A reaction which proved him his still lingering humanity because he had never seen an angel crying. He wanted to sleep and rest and think and... "Ryoma, what's wrong?"

Ryoma swallowed down the lump in his throat, tried hard to make his voice sound calm and composed like Yukimura's. "Nothing, Sanada."

"So your wings are hiding you why?"

"Dunno. Perhaps so I don't need to see any of you?" He choked the words out and cursed himself for the sign of weakness. He couldn't even hold his voice steady. His throat was knotted, his lungs hurt from the paused income of air. Ryoma didn't want to breathe, didn't want the sadness and anger and hurt choke him or break out. Showing his weak side now would only make things worse.

"What's really wrong? Since when are you speaking in this tone again?"

"What tone?"

"Angry and disrespectful." It wasn't a questions, so Ryoma didn't care to answer and saved his energy to calm himself once more, to get his mind back working fully. He needed to get himself together! "You don't want to tell us?"

"No."

"Are y-"

"Genichirou..." The door opened and closed anew, signalled the approach of another angel on the balcony who joined them and stopped at Ryoma's right side. Ryoma's wings were still hiding him, blocking every possible way to look at his face. It was also blocking his way to view over his shoulder and gaze at the newcomer, though. He had actually come to like those stupid feathery wings.

Sanada stretched his hand out but paused an inch before touching him and pulled away at last. Ryoma could feel the heat radiating from this hand and it gave him a shiver. When was the last time someone he cared and hugged him? He wasn't someone who liked cuddling, nonetheless, he missed the warmth of it and the feeling of safety.

Warm fingertips touched his spine gently and almost shyly. Was the hand shaking? Or was he just imaging it? Tezuka closed the distance, hushed the following words near his ear and against his wings which were still shielding him. "Do you mind coming back inside with us. The others have already left, gone back to our own room. Genichirou and I would like to show and tell you something which isn't for anybody else's ears or eyes."

"Kunimitsu!"

"I think he's proven us enough to let him know about it. I don't want to shatter and break him by lying any further and continuing to force him into something which he will never want to be. He has another choice just like us." The brown-winged angel said to his brother and directed his word to Ryoma once more. "You won't regret it, Ryoma. I can promise you that."

"I don't think it's such a good idea."

"But I do. I have seen it. It was the same..." Ryoma didn't know exactly what _"It was the same"_ meant nor what the other angel had seen in him. Nevertheless, it peaked his curiosity of what was coming next.

Tezuka's stare hadn't left him and Ryoma noted just then that his wings had opened up a bit, allowed both angels full view at his face. His golden eyes wandered up slowly. Tezuka's feet came in sight, then his legs, his chest and his lips and finally his brown eyes which sparkle in an unbelievably warmth. Ryoma blinked the last tears away, uncertain if he saw correct or if the tears had simply blurred his view and he had seen wrong.

Although, by the second look it was still the same. The warmth didn't leave those honey brown eyes, instead it grew. "Ryoma, please come with us." Tezuka held out his hand, palms up and waited for him take it. There was no hurry in his voice or his movements, the brown-winged angel was the complete stone of ease. "It'll help you in a good way..."

In a good way? It hadn't been good for him so far since they had started to change things around him or on him. It had always been for their satisfaction and never for h- " ...and, no it's not only good from our point of view. You'll like it, too."

"Why should I believe you?"

"Because you're one of the rare angels who still feels emotions. You will break sooner or later if nothing changes. I can already see it." The words were nearly inaudible as Tezuka had lowered is voice to a hush and got closer. Their bodies were touching each other, his wings had loosened up entirely by now. "And I fear we could get caught by other angels even if the coldness should force most of them home." There was a very small smirk, just a small uplift in the left corner of his lips as Tezuka wandered away from him and to Sanada who was still standing on Ryoma's left side.

The newborn nodded once and straightened up absentmindedly, walked back inside is bedroom, not caring if the two were following him. He hadn't noticed the coldness till now. His hands were icy...

The thought about any other angel having seen him crying through his wings made him blush and fear... for...

Wait... hold on for a second...

Wait!

Fear!

Tezuka felt... fear... and cold?!

Ryoma stopped abruptly, spun around in the middle of the room with his mouth and eyes wide open. Had he understood it right? "Wait... What exactly do you mean by it? You're feeling?"

Tezuka sat down at the end of the large bed, patting the place next to him. Sanada closed the door quickly, let some curtains fall over them from out of nowhere and joined his brother on the bed. The lamps lid up instantly and flooded the room in a dim light. "Yes, and we would like you to keep it a secret. Nobody else than we three know now, not even the rest of our brothers do."

"Wait! Stop!" He probably looked like a fish on land right now but he... Oh fuck! "What about the whole story you told me? The disease and al-"

"The disease isn't a lie." Sanada interrupted him gently. "It really does exist because our genes are much different than human's. The sickness comes from angels having changing emotions, it's one of the many triggers but not all angels get infected by it that's one thing which is hidden from everyone."

He was left speechless, couldn't say a single word. Stunned. "Why?" Ryoma whispered and took place next to Tezuka, glancing from him to Sanada. "Why did you lie to me? Told me I needed to change or I would die, my family would die... If not all angels get infected by it then w-"

"The count of those angels who doesn't get infected by it is still unknown because we can not tell how to detect it. The angels had the choice hundreds of years ago. Risking it and living with feelings for a couple of years before getting killed or imprisoned or living a long life without strong feelings."

"I don't understand. Who can live without feeling anything?"

"The disease here in _Amaterasu_ is comparable with leukemia on earth. You recognize the signs of the sickness almost every time too late, especially by young children, and all you can do is hope you won't lose control over your mind and body. The difference between those two disease is that leukemia doesn't affect an entire country." Sanada shook his head probably unconsciously, his eyes were dull as if he thought about some far away memory. And it was not a good one, as Ryoma noticed the deep furrows on the other angel's forehead. "An angel, a fully grown angel with full control over his power is a danger to not only his own family, but also for his country and the peace with the neighbouring land."

"How?"

"Your grandmother was a very good skilled and controlled angel. However, whenever she returned from her secret trips from earth, she started to... lose it more and more. We thought it was because of you but it wasn't like this. At her last day, she had talked to one of her female friends. We were told that the conversations was about unpractical themes like the color of her dresses. Nothing to trigger a strong emotion. Nevertheless, from one second to another she had started attacking eleven newborns, two maids from the market and one of the royal family. One of the two maids, a newborn and the member of the royal family survived, the rest did not."

Ryoma was speechless. He couldn't believe what they told him...

"We still don't have a antidote against it, nor have we an item to quantify it. Do you understand now a little better why our security controls are so harsh for newborns and also for other angels?"

"Is it only for those reasons that you're making all of them to cripples by ripping out their wings or... letting them fall down hundreds of miles and shatter to the hard ground?" Ryoma felt the salty tears at the brick of his eyes. It only took him one memory of Dan and the last meeting with his grandmother to push him to his emotional limit. "I mean, if you imprison them already, why hurting them any further? Can't you just watch over them or... end their lives peacfully if... they want to end it? And about the newborns... not every newborn gets prepared for those tests... and needs more time than two or three days to get used to everything. Still you forced... me to... Dan..."

Ryoma stopped, blinked harshly the tears back to where they came from. He wouldn't cry, not now...

"Believe us when we tell you that we wish for more time for newborns to adjust themselves to our rules and such, too. But the angels had made a choice and so did our king who is the only one who can change the rules. He is also the only one who can and is allowed to end an angel's life and remove his or her wings." Sanada smiled, still to Ryoma's surprise, sadly.

"The king made this rule?"

"Yes, our dear father is, after the attack against his only pure blooded son, hypersensitive over this topic and overprotective. He doesn't want to risk it again so he seizes hard measures." Tezuka answered and cleared his throat. "It was his idea to lock the infected angels up and sent a medical team with guards to them each day, too. Just to see if anything has changed. If there is any hope to have finally found an antidote."

There was silence between them as all the spoken information sank slowly inside Ryoma's messed up brain. There was something strange about the last sentence which Tezuka had said... "If the king is so scared about it, isn't he one of the risky ones himself? I mean, he is feeling something and it surely is strong if it leads him to perform such strict and unexceptional measures."

"Not if he is one of the handful of angels who are immune to the sickness."

"He is?"

"We don't know for sure but we guess. He won't answer such questions, neither to me nor to Genichirou."

"And you two aren't so... heartless like the others?" Both angels had a microscopic smile on their lips at his choice of words.

"Give me your hand, Ryoma." Sanada stood up and knelt in front of him, waiting for him to offer him his hand which he did after a second thought. The black-winged angel guided it up to his chest and pressed Ryoma's hand against the very thin and silky cloth over his heart.

_A heartbeat,_ Ryoma noticed and listened to it closely. A lively heart which hammered strongly against the chest. Sanada continued in a whispery tone. "Both, Kunimitsu and I, feel emotions... happiness, sadness, joy, pleasure and pain."

"And we would like to apologize to you for all the pain you had to endure till now. We know it's hard as we had the same to endure but we can't show our true self in front of others. We would end up as prisoners as well." Tezuka's fingertips were back on Ryoma's spine, stroking up and down softly over the thin cloth.

"Why hadn't you told me earlier?"

"Because we have waited till the medical team had finished with the analyze of your dust and also because we didn't trust you to keep our secret. Most newborns get used to the, like you would call it, cold behavior and adjust themselves to it." The first part was understandable, even if Ryoma was still a little mad about them waiting so long and letting him bear the pain all by himself. Though, if he thought deeper about it, he couldn't say anything against it. The two would have been questioned by others, especially Fuji and Atobe as all of them slept in one room, when they would have come to him every time he had been hurt.

The second part about his dust made him focus on the real issue again.  
>"What about my dust?"<p>

"Your dust makes other angel feel your emotions which you felt while producing your dust. It's a strange dust if all the angels shouldn't feel something, don't you think?"

"I don't understand."

"Kunimitsu hopes that your dust could actually help those broken angels in the hidden place. Your grandmother, for example."

Ryoma exhaled the air which he had held in unconsciously, not knowing what to say. They had made him speechless today quite often which certainly wasn't something he liked.

"We know, we ask a lot of you but we thought you should know the truth."

"So just to make it clear..."Ryoma began. "What exactly do you want from me? You're... I don't understand any of you! What is my role in this all because I haven't had time to think clearly without feeling hurt or absolutely exhausted by your training. I hadn't even the chance to say goodbye to my brother, Ryoga, or my parents on earth nor did I have the chance to think about everything you had said a few days ago! I still have the same unanswered questions in my head-"

"You haven't had the chance to end a chapter of your past so you can start a new chapter?" Tezuka cut him off midsentenc and all Ryoma could do is nod. "If you have the chance to see them one last time and then return back here, would you grab it?"

"Yes." Came the quick reply.

"Then promise us one thing: You'll hide your feelings, at least in front of everyone else beside us and we'll try to get you to see your parents one last time. I'm sure you'll see Ryoga soon enough as he'll be your assistant as soon as he finishes his education."

The words brought a smile, a real smile on his face. He couldn't believe it but he wanted to, his heart wanted to! "I accept if you respect my own condition." Both angels furrowed their brows. "If you promise me to stop causing me pain an injuries, I'm willing to learn your...stuff but not to the extend of being treated like an emotionless slave or a bunching bag."

Both nodded and smiled a tiny and nearly unseen smile.  
>Ryoma felt happy for the very first time since he had arrived at this place.<p> 


	22. The Silence Before The Storm

**A/N: Thanks for your patience, guys. And thanks for your reviews!  
><strong>

**Disclaimer: do not own anything!**

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><p><em><strong>~~ The Silence Before The Storm ~~<strong>_

_**~~ 26. April, Night ~~**_

"So... are you feeling well enough to try dancing with us once more or is your body too beaten up?" Tezuka asked with a quite monotone voice and reached out his hand, waited patiently for him to take it. Ryoma hesitated, glanced from the pale hand up to the angel's face and deep into these honey brown eyes behind those glasses. His headache was long gone, still his body felt like a ton of stones.

Though, why dancing?  
>Why now and in the middle of his bedroom?<p>

They had promised him no more pain and agony which would mean no more tests, no more falling down and kissing the hard ground. At least he hoped he could trust them fully with it. Tezuka studied him silently, his brown eyes wandering over his face as he spoke in a quiet and surprisingly calming voice, assured him their promise anew. "We won't let you fall down and break our promise."

Ryoma hesitated further but lifted his hand, ready to pull it away again or grab the waiting hand. Before he could speak out his still lingering doubt aloud, Sanada's eyes softened a tiny bit as he spoke. "Somtimes, you would start producing dust in the middle of the dance when nothing scared or stopped you from really enjoying it." The other angel held out his hand too, waited for him to grab it and accept their invitation. "And you would also wear this one specific smile, like you're actually really happy with what you're doing and feeling."

Ryoma blinked, felt the heat creeping its way up to his cheeks. He smiled when he danced?! Oh shit, how embarrassing! He hadn't noticed it at all... not once in the entire time. However, a very fascinating and frightening thought made him swallow hard. The newborn cleared his throat, feeling its dryness only then. "Was that he trigger for your sudden stops in the middle of the dance? Because you clearly saw my feelings?"

"I can't speak for my siblings, but yes, it was a reason for me to do it. You need to learn to hide it in front of others or we can't protect you from the following pain. It's very important and sometimes you will need to fight to keep up the mask but always have in mind that you're not alone." Sanada explained and viewed directly in Ryoma's golden orbs.

The newborn hadn't actually believed in hearing such an honest reply from his new brother, nonetheless, it was one steps forward in making their complicated and messed up relationship work. If all angels would be like them, this place would be pretty great and enjoyable. Maybe if his dust was really some kind of solution to the disease like Sanada and Tezuka believed in... at least a little hint how to stop it and make the angels not fear it so strongly and rejected all emotions inside them... maybe then this place could be called home.

Ryoma shook his head to break this certain train of thoughts and cleared his throat once more, saying firmly "No more tests!" and stared, watched both of them carefully, waiting for any kind of negative reaction. When they nodded in unison in agreement, he bit his lower lip and grabbed both hands while breathing out. If they were ready to trust him with so much, he would put at least the same amount of trust in them. "Alright, just one dance."

What had he to lose? Each angel grabbed one of his hands and lifted him gently up from the bed. Tezuka swirled him around while Sanada let go of his hand, taking a few steps backwards so they could stretch their wings. The brown-winged angel got in position and looked questioning with an eye brow lifted at him, waited for his agreement to start the dance. It felt strange to actually being asked for once instead of forced or ordered and Ryoma found himself liking it very much as he nodded.

His wings moved in the already very well known rhythm and the newborn closed his eyes as the soft wind, caused by their swinging wings, caressed his still heated and red flaming cheeks. The dance was relaxing, calmed his stressed and overloaded nerves.

Though, there was no music and not so much room to dance for like they had whenever they practiced in the gigantic ballroom, it was somehow... nicer? Ryoma couldn't describe it... better and more comfortable, perhaps?

No hawk's eyes who where correcting him in every move he made, every word he spoke. No smart ass comments or distractions. It felt absolutely amazing to only fly and just fly without focusing on the next step he would need to make. His body moved and reacted on its own, feeling completely at ease.

Ryoma had no clue where the sudden trust came from, nevertheless, it was much better than falling deeper into his depressions and grieving over things he couldn't change anyway.

He got lifted up for a moment, a different hand rested on his free hip as another stroked softly over his right wing, causing him to shudder deeply. Another wave of heat rush through his body. It was strange... None of his brothers or any other angel had ever touched him on other places than his head or his hand, well and his waist when they danced but outside from their training lessons... nothing.

The newborn was spun around into Sanada's arms and the dance continued as if nothing had happened while Tezuka retired. He couldn't suppress the smile which broke through his relaxed mask on his face only a couple of minutes later.

The dance, the steps were the same like always - the movements of a slow walzer. However, Ryoma felt the different characters and personalities through their dances. Every angel, each one of his brothers had its own rhythm. Tezuka's steps were strict and very precise, each one was thought over thoroughly. Sanada's movements were pure passion and a little bit more wilder. His style of dance had also a little too much of body contact for Ryoma's liking. It was quite funny to watch Sanada dance because the angel would be more suited to dance salsa or tango, not walzer.

Fuji was a whole different story because the angel seemed to have no way of expressing his own style of dancing. The blue-winged angel danced completely out of line with his personality. Sometimes he would move like Tezuka, trying to imitate their brother's steps but failing at it. And in the next turn around he would try to dance like a mixture of Sanada and Atobe. However, Ryoma had never felt safe in those blue-winged angel's arms. He had no clue how to handle such an unpredictable person, so he decided to continue to avoid this certain angel as much as possible till he had a solution.

Atobe, on the other hand, hadn't danced many times with him, had only demanded it twice. Nonetheless, Ryoma could tell with certainty that Atobe was much more than he showed him. His movements, his stance and the way he held him shoved all of the newborn's options about the pure blooded angel upside down. Save and secure in those firm grip; Ryoma liked to dance with him the best. It was strange, confusing and scared him to no end but he couldn't stop his way of feeling. He had been careful, watching out for angel's dust or some other kind of mixture in gas or liquid form. Nothing had been used during his lessons. Never again since the last time.

Ryoma took a light breath, opened his eyes anew and was instantly surprised to see that the dance had long ended and they were back on the ground, standing in the center of the room. Though, Sanada was still holding him against his body, watching him with curious orbs. Ups, he hadn't noticed it, had been entirely lost in this train of thoughts once more.

The heat rose to his cheeks, probably never having left, and Ryoma didn't dare to look up, instead, wiggled free from his opposite's grip. The black-winged angel kissed him one his forehead and let go, taking a couple of steps back to give him space. "You did well... and you're... sweaty. Do you want to take a quick shower with us? We'll call our maids and let them clean the room."

It was really a questions. No demand or barked order, just a simple questions which he could decline without fearing some painful consequences. The last sentences priked something inside him. "What do you mean with-" The newborn glanced around the room while speaking and wanted to jump in the next black hole immediately. The entire room glittered in his dust, the bed, the ground, the mirror and the wardrobe - simply everything. Had he lost control so badly? When?

"Sorry." He mumbled and hid his face from prying eyes behind his strands of emerald colored hair. "I would like to use the shower." He continued after sniffing his not so great odor... If he was already making an embarrassment out of himself, he didn't need to smell like one.

His brothers hid their grins well enough for him not to see, nevertheless, he was sure they laughed at his antics from the inside. "Don't apologize. You'll get control over it soon. You just need more practice." They guided him to the bathroom next door and Ryoma was more than startled to see Atobe and Fuji inside the large bathtub, resting their bodies in the hot water. Yukimura, however, was nowhere to be seen.

None of the two said something to him as he entered, only glanced at him for a second before continuing where they had stopped in their conversation. Tezuka pushed him lightly in the direction of the large showers and started one them. Hot water flushed over Ryoma instantly, streaming over his face and further down his clothed body.

The newborn relaxed, enjoyed the warmth surrounding him, just looking around when the sound of rustling clothes echoed from the walls. His brothers joined him, walked into the shower next to him and began rubbing some good smelling soap on their very naked and muscular bodies. The newborn couldn't help the glances he shot at them, even when he was barely looking, only glancing out of the corner of his eyes to them. The muscles came certainly from some sort of sport. Hopefully he could gain such a body in quite some time too.

He let his eyes wander further down from their chest to their hips and...

OH GOD!

Had he just looked...down there?

The sudden movement from his left side startled the hell out of him and he gasped, spun on his heels, glaring at the stranger for a second before recognition set in. Fuji stood at his side, all emotions shut out of his face. He held in his hand the brush which looked like a sponge like he had done a moment ago. This time though, it seemed the angel didn't want Ryoma to brush his wings but the other way around. Fuji wanted to help him clean up his sweaty and dust covered wings. "Please."

The plead sounded monotone but something told him to give in just a little, to step forward and not backward in their crazy relationship no matter how they were connected. Ryoma tried to swallow down the knot in his throat but it was useless. He glanced to his two newly found allies, asked with furrowed brows what he should do because he couldn't decide if he should accept or decline the offered help. Fuji was still a sensitive topic and hadn't done anything so far from gaining his trust.

Instead of a clear answer or a simple nod, Sanada grabbed something from a marble shelf above his head and approached him with less than four steps. "Will you allow us to help you?"

Ryoma frown deepened, not understanding what was going on. Then he noted the real sponge in the black-winged angel's outstretched hand.

Damn it! Was Sanada kidding him? He had asked the question because he didn't know if he could trust Fuji or not and now Sanada asked him... if he could help him getting his wings clean?!

He glared at Sanada when the revelation hit him. Shit! Sanada wanted him to accept, covering up the obviously answer. He knew Ryoma trusted him more than Fuji and would accept the offer more likely if it had come from him. Why couldn't he tell him simply "yes" instead of confusing him?

The hot water was still running, streaming down his body and for a second there was no other sound than the ripple of water. "What do I need to do?" Ryoma asked in a husky voice, not believing he was agreeing to do this.

"Stand still and we'll do the rest, little brother." Fuji began to unbutton his clothes, stripped them of his shoulders and hips and let them fall to the ground while Sanada took two bottles from the shelf and mixed them together in his hands. Ryoma was immediately on alert and his piercing glare shot to the bottle and to the angel who shook his head at him.

"Ryoma, it's just shampoo, nothing else - no dusk or anything like it." Sanada showed him the bottle and also the content. Ryoma relaxed visibly when he noticed it was truly just shampoo, just some fluffy foam smelling good and nothing more. Nothing changed in or outside of him. "Stay still and relax. Everything is fine."

He nodded and tried to relax as much as possible as he could get when he was naked and facing the shower's wall, knowing four pairs of eyes were watching him and scanning his body from head to toe. It made him fidgety and didn't stop his body from reacting to the touches. Shivers, chills and jolts of electricity shot through his whole body whenever the brush glided over his wings and the sponge over his skin. His body vibrated from it uncontrollably.

Ryoma bit his bottom lip hard, suppressed every available sound coming out of his mouth and embarrass him further. The bright blush of pink was bad enough. He felt the heat not only on his cheeks but now on his ears and neck too. His brothers were completely clueless as to why he was blushing so furiously or they were pretty good actors who didn't care about nudity. It was probably the later one if Ryoma thought about their age. They had most likely gotten used to the sight. But why were they staring at him then if they were used to seeing a male body?

His train of thoughts was ripped in two and also his self control vanished and got thrown out of the next window when the most amazing and arousing jolt shot trough his system. A high pitched sound from deep in his lungs rushed out of his mouth as he screamed and wobbled forward to grab the wall and hold his body upward. He panted hard, viewed over his shoulders to see the cause of his outburst of control.

Both angels looked... shocked or maybe very satisifed? They watched him with curiosity and open mouths. Then Fuji giggled and broke the spell over them. "Well, it seems your weak spot on your wings is the highest muscle." The laugh and smile of the blue-winged angel never reached his closed eyes. "I think you're clean enough to join us in the tub. C'mon." The angel chuckled again and headed with Tezuka to the steaming large pool which they called tub. The thing looked like a fucking hot spring.

A towel was spun around his waist, and Ryoma looked up thankfully at Sanada who nodded in return and joined the others. At least his private part would be hidden from direct views. He turned around, fastened the knee-length towel with a knot and walked into the tub. It would be childish and stupid to walk back into his very messy and dust covered room. He had nowhere else to go and sleep so where should he go anyway?

The little incident seemed forgotten as if it had never happened. The angels chatted quietly with each other, enjoying the hot water around them. Ryoma took the chance to enjoy himself and decided to take a small nap, leaning his head against the edge and shutting his heavy golden orbs.

Damn, that felt good!

Ryoma didn't know how long he had sat there, sleeping lightly with only one ear listening to the always quieter growing conversations. _It doesn't matter_ his brain told him when he drifted of to sleep, just to be jerk out of his dreams when a door burst open after a short knock and a guard flew inside.

"Kabaji, what is it?" Atobe's tone of voice, the carelessness... it didn't fit with the way the prince had acted two days ago when a guard had accidentally entered the bedroom without waiting for the allowance to come inside. Atobe had been furious and told loudly that no one was allowed to enter a room, any room, where one of the royal family is inside without permission as nobody should see their beautiful skin or something. Ryoma hadn't exactly listened to the lecture, had been more fascinated by the softness of the bed and the following tiredness back then.

This acting was, however, completely different. The guard seemed to have permission to see all prince half naked and in the middle of bathing. Awkward was a mild word to describe Ryoma's feelings right now and he dug deeper into the water which had now all of a sudden bubbles on top. Grape fruit smelling bubbles. Yum.

A shadow hovered over him, joint by two more. The newborn blinked and found himself surrounded by his brothers who seemed to hide him from the newcomer's view. Strange. He could understand if it was just Tezuka and Sanada shielding him but why Fuji too? He could feel the headache approaching if he dared to think about this certain topic one more time and for more than a second. Better to let it slip.

"Atobe-sama, there is a newborn demanding to speak to him." He didn't saw at whom the broad shouldered and stupid looking angel with the big face reffered at, nevertheless, the feeling in his stomach told him somehow it was none of his brothers. "He is waiting in the hall for entrance."

"What's his name?"

"He claims to be the older brother of the youngest prince." The round of groans surprised Ryoma all the more.

"Let him wait. We'll finish up and come and get him once we're presentable." Atobe grumbled, dismissed the guard named Kabaji and stomped out of the water to the wardrobe filled with different colored satin bathrobes, pulling one in dark purple on while hissing silently to himself. "I need my beauty rest! How often have I told them not to disturb me?"

Ryoma rolled his eyes, smirking slightly at the diva-like remarks. Fuji pulled him out of the water without waiting for his reaction and handed him a white satin bathrobe at him. "Put it on, quickly."

"It's Ryoga, right? Why are you so annoyed? You said he will be my assistant anyway. Shouldn't he be allowed to see me then?"

"He will be but only after he finished his educations as one and that will take a few years." Fuji wanted to say more, nevertheless, he stopped and viewed at him, swallowing down whatever he wanted to say changing his choice of words. The blue eyes were hidden behind half moon shaped eyelids and a bright cheerful smile which was visibly fake. "We'll met your former brother and tell him the truth about you and your present status in this world. Maybe then he will understand that he can't talk to you whenever he wants."

"Wha-" Sanada cut him off midsentence.

"No, Ryoma, Syusuke didn't mean it like it sounded. You told us you need to make a cut to start a new chapter, didn't you?" The newborn nodded, still not liking the topic and where the conversation was heading but requested his brother to continue. "You need to make a cut to Ryoga too. Not in ending his life but in ending your relationship with him. He will be your assistant, not your brother and as such you'll need to handle and take care of him in the future. Do you understand?"


	23. Loosing The First Shackle

**A/N: And once again, thanks for the patience and your lovely reviews, guys. I'm always jumping in happiness when I read them!  
>The relationship between the angels will grow stronger, though, a few obstacles will appear till the road gets easier. The day for the trip to the feast is coming closer!<br>Hope you will enjoy the next chapter. ^-^  
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**Disclaimer: Do not own anything.**

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><p><em><strong>~~ Loosing The First Shackle ~~<strong>_

_**~~ 26. April, Late Night ~~**_

Ryoma entered the room with the others and followed them to the large walk-in closet, watching them getting dressed. None of them seemed to bother about nudity. They simply let their bathrobes fall and put on underwear - which was pretty thin and quite eye-catching. Damn, where was he looking at!? - and some loose sitting sleeping pants. The angels didn't bother to put on a shirt or something else.

Atobe glances at him with narrowed eyes and a deep thinking expression on his face, then back to the clothes hanging on a pole left from him. His orbs wandered from the clothes to the newborn a few times, probably guessing if the ugly purple-colored shirt with the way too many ruffles and frills on every place would suit him or not... Perhaps the angel was also thinking if Ryoma was worth to wear such a good piece of cloth because the way Atobe viewed at the shirt clearly spoke volumes for this question!

After another meticulous glance with furrowed brows, Atobe shook his head and grabbed clear white pants with a golden pattern, the same as the once on his wings, and a form-fitting shirt in the same color without a pattern on it. The newborn was thankful for the shirt and that he wouldn't need to fly around shirtless. He found it strange enough to notice the princes' stares on his body and all too often on his wings. Though, it was not a I-hate-him-stare. There was something else in their view, something which Ryoma still couldn't describe clearly.

It took him awhile to dress up properly. When he pulled his wings trough the two slits at the backside of the shirt, his brothers had long finished dressing up and waited for him, clearly amused by his distress with these clothes even if their face were blank from any emotion. They walked out of the closet together and spread around the room. Atobe sat on his favorite place - the chair in front of the large table with an equally large mirror fixed on it and a gigantic selection of different colored and sized bottles - while Sanada lounged comfortably on the large bed as Tezuka and Fuji sat down on the large couch in the middle of the room. Ryoma was on his way to the last free place - the love seat near the window.

Nevertheless, a hand on his wrist hindered him on his way and stopped him in his tracks. His view wandered to the owner of the hand - Tezuka. The angel asked him silently to sit down next to them.

A soft moan let his eyes wander to the bed though. Just then did Ryoma noted the sleeping newborn in the bed. Yukimura was pale, probably sleeping from exhaustion otherwise would the violet-winged newborn long be awake by all the noises they had made by entering the bedroom. Ryoma was worried, just for a second, before he had his thoughts and emotions under control once more.

"Let him in." Atobe shouted and, Ryoma couldn't believe it even as he saw it with his own golden orbs, began to pluck his eyebrows with a tweezers in a perfect shape. The newborn shook his head, tried to get ride of the hilarious image before him when a hand came into his sight which made him focus on the hand on his wrist and the two angels on the couch next to him.

Fuji sat on the right side of the couch, pulled him in the middle so he was sitting in between the angels. Tezuka let go of him and turned, facing him and his other brother. A brush was laid into his hand and the blue-winged angel cupped his hands with the object a little bit longer than necessary. "Would you now do me the favor and brush my hair? It will look quite messy if I don't brush it before it gets dry and go to bed."

It was a very big temptations to decline the offer just to see the messiness on Fuji's head. None of his brothers looked messy or dirty, never. All of them were groomed, handsome and presentable all the time. There had been not one time where they hadn't given the impression of perfection. Were all angels were so determined or obsessed with putting so much effort into their appearances like the princes?

Ryoma hadn't really cared about how other angel saw him. Back then as human he would have been always late for school and early tennis practice, so there hadn't been time to comb his hair or straighten his uniform. The damn clothes would get wrinkled over the day anyway so why wasting energy for it?

He focused again on reality and pulled his hand with the brush free from Fuji's warm grip. The angel turned around and gave him free access to his shoulder-length lightly brown hair and also to his beautiful blue wings. He lifted the brush with shaking hands but paused unconsciously, biting on his lips. What had he to lose if he did that?

Tezuka watched him sharply, gestured with a short nod in their brother's direction to try it. As if Fuji could read his thought and see their none-vocal conversations behind his back, he spoke up in a calm and somehow friendly voice. "I won't hurt you as long as you don't hurt me. We had a pretty rough start but I don't want to have to distrust my own brother for the rest of my life."

Well, if that weren't some promising words! Ryoma swallowed down the knot in his throat and hoped his stomach wouldn't give in right then because the butterflies in there were certainly on speed or ecstasy and making him feel like a nervous shit. He began to brush the soft hair as carefully as he could, only touch the strands of sandpaper colored hair briefly. The last thing he needed now was a furious angel whom he had accidentally ripped out a handful of his precious hair. He had done it once and the memory still caused nightmares and waves of fear to him.

Hell, if he would be Fuji, he would have tattered his attackers wings instead of asking him to brush the object which had been harmed. The angel was up to something, Ryoma could feel it! "You can put a little bit more pressure on it. I wont break so easily. Just don't rip some of my hairs out like you did with the feathers of my wings."

"I'm not going to apologize for it if that is what you hoped for." He rumbled and tried to control his shaking hands. He wouldn't back down, not with Fuji. It was one thing trying to be nice and making a promise with two of his new brothers but Fuji didn't offer him anything so wasn't getting anything out of his promise. At least nothing more than monotone conversations and as little contact - physical and mental - as possible. The angel was simply just creepy!

The sound of the door opening and shutting went unnoticed by him thanks to his focus not to brush too strong. Also the sound of someone walking in wasn't recognized by him. Only the loud clearing of the person's throat made him note the newcomer. "I'm sorry for intruding so late at night but I need to speak to my brother urgently." Ryoga bowed down very lightly, his focus fixed at him and not at one of the angels.

"No!" Came the immediate reply from all four princes. Their glares spoke enough to tell Ryoma their annoyance. Ryoga wanted to say more, readied himself to spit it out and be the dickhead he had always been. "You have no ri-"

However, the newborn wouldn't let him get himself into more trouble. "Ryoga, spit it out. They will get to know it eventually anyway." Ryoma sighed, never stopped to brush the soft hair - it was calming him down to his utter surprise and confusion - and gestured to his former brother to not fight him and make things worse. He was getting used to this life, the now and then, the present. The newborn wasn't prepared to fight his former brother and probably wouldn't be able to do it.

When no sound of agreement came from the newborn, Ryoma lifted his view up in confusion and glared at Ryoga. There was an undefined... sparkle... or glimmer in the newborn's dark golden orbs... Ryoga pierced one angel after another with his eyes, his pale face and the smell of sweat busted his try to hide the nervousness inside of him.

"I think he wants especially us not to hear what he has to say, Ryoma." Atobe and Fuji chuckled while Tezuka and Sanada remained quiet. "Saa, what is it you don't want us to hear?" Ryoga clenched his teeth, seemingly stopping himself from snapping at Fuji. He in and exhaled deeply twice, trying forcefully to relax. "I wanted to tell my brother that I have misjudged him and that he was right. I want to tell him I agree with him."

Silence, dead end silence erupted from everyone. Ryoma wasn't sure what his former brother wanted to tell him with those words. Where had he been right? What had he agreed on? What the hell was going on?

Reliable as ever, Tezuka enlightened him. "In other words, the illusion you had of all angels treating you with the respect of a prince and cherishing you like one blurted like a bubble and now you want to run away like our brother had done once because of a misunderstanding."

"Misunderstanding? You call torturing and harming him a misunderstanding?"

"No, but telling him lies and not speaking out the truth was a misunderstanding and a mistake from our side. Haven't you also lied to him?"

"N-"

"You have never really understood him and assumed he was agreeing with you in so many things that you missed the fact to ask him directly about his opinion!" Tezuka stood up, approaching and towering over Ryoga with his full height and broad shoulders.

"What do you mean? If I don't understand him then why should you? You have only spent a handful of days with him, not the seventeen years like I have! I know Chibisuke!" Ryoga's voice grew louder with each spoken word, getting sharper and stronger. The guy was not only a dickhead but a very confident bastard too.

Ryoma watched the whole scene from the couch, the brushing stopped long ago and the chuckle from the blue-winged angel startled him, made him jolt up in surprise. Fuji's voice was too sweet and missed the designated impression of calmness and ease. It sounded more like passive aggression. "Did the thought cross your mind that Ryoma doesn't want to go or run away any longer, maybe? Perhaps he wants to stay here and accept his role as a prince of the royal family and wants to learn to control his new powers and abilities?"

"He would nev-" Ryoga snarled and was cut off by Fuji whose bottle of patience was fully exhausted. The blue-winged angel stood up and headed directly to the newborn standing by the door, grabbed a bottle from the table with the mirror on his way and glared daggers at the shivering but straight standing newborn. Ryoma would have backed away long ago. Perhaps because he knew and experienced Fuji's wrath before?

"He would and you know it already. Do you really believe someone who despises and hates us so strongly like Ryoma once had, would brush my hair so gently and look at ease, stare at my wings with admiration when I had, just like you said, hurt him not so long ago?" Fuji didn't wait for an answer. "Ryoma, our brother, has changed. Believe it or ask him yourself if you don't."

Ryoga was speechless and so was youngest newborn blinked hurriedly and viewed with innocent orbs at Fuji. His world was spinning and slowly turning upside down.

He viewed at the blue-winged angel's wings with admiration?!

HOLY SHIT!

When had he done it?!

"Chibisuke?" Called newborn joined the standing angels, stopping when he was four steps away from Ryoga. He wanted to dodge, to outrun the incoming argumentation and the following fight with it because Ryoga wouldn't ever give in so easily, would fight till he got what he wanted. Ryoma was like this too but not with the cost of other beings getting hurt or harmed by it. He remembered Ryoga tricking and forcing him to fly up to the goal so he would succeed in the test and be accepted as an angel though he hadn't wanted it back then. Had wanted to die and disappear out of the angels' sight.

Ryoma blinked the memory away. "They are right, somehow. I think it isn't so bad here anymore, just different from what we're used to." He said simply without beating around the bush. Ryoga on the other hand was speechless, frozen to the ground of marble and gazed at him with disbelief. "You had just like me prejudices of what it means to be an angel. My prejudices came from lies which Mom and Dad told me. And you, too. My mistake was to not make my own opinion of this place, believing in only the things which other people, who had never been here before or were sane, had told me."

He took one more step forward, waiting for Ryoga's outburst.  
>"Is hating this place and finding it shitty your opinion or these of the other newborns in the dorm?"<p>

"What has happened to you? What have they done to you?"

"I got enlightened that I didn't play fair and you know how much I dislike those idiots at tennis who can't win without cheating and playing unfair." Ryoma paused, waited for a sign if Ryoga was listening. His former brother blinked in recognition. "I wasn't better than them. Instead of learning from my loss and trying to understand them and what was happening around me, I held onto what I believed was the truth and tried to win with all available weapons, even if they weren't fair."

"I don't recognized you, Chibisuke. You have changed so much under their influence. I should have believed your words earlier and followed you out of here when you had wanted me to." The newborn hissed and stepped backwards till he hit the door. He turned on his heels, glancing over his left shoulder one last time, saying, "Try coming back and be the real you otherwise have fun being their pet and brushing their hair." as he left and stomped out of the bedroom.

Something poked Ryoma at the sight. Ryoga hadn't flown once in the entire time, had walked in and out of the room like a human. It was as if Ryoma saw his old self and how he had acted a week ago. He couldn't move his body, didn't know how to react to such rejection from a beloved one. Ryoga had lived with him, was a part of his past. But now... Ryoma doubted he would be a part of his present and future... and it scared him. What if Ryoga did stupid things and was pushed over the balcony with hurt wings so he couldn't fly?

What if... God, he couldn't think.

Even if Ryoga wasn't his brother here, he was still a part of his life!

A movement from his right side startled him, pushed him out of balance and caused him to bump against Fuji. Sanada approached the balcony, opened the door to it and spoke to a guard quickly and quietly. The guard bowed not long after and flew up and out of sight. The black-winged angel returned and walked smoothly straight to him, not waiting for anything and kissing him on his forehead. "Time for bed. You need your sleep and spare your energy. Tomorrow will be a hard day for everyone."

What was tomorrow?

"The guard will watch out for Ryoga and inform us immediately if something is wrong." Fuji's slim fingers slid through his and pulled him along to the bed, pulled the brush - which Ryoma was still holding onto - out of his hand and put it on the nightstand beside the bed. The angel signalled him to hop in and make himself comfortable.

No argument there. The vocal fight had sucked all the energy left in him, leaving utter exhaustion and a feeling of lonelines and sadness. He was sliding under the comfy covers, snuggled in beside Yukimura and closed his heavy eyes as the other angels called good night and darkened the light in the room. It surprised Ryoma to feel the bed move and someone getting in as well. Two to be exact - one in front of him and one behind Yukimura. The newborns sleeping in the middle of the sandwich.


	24. Pillow Talk

**A/N: Thanks for all your lovely reviews and sorry for the long wait, guys. I had trouble writing this chapter and I'm still not satisfied with it but had no other idea how to fix it. Hope you like it anyway.  
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**The next chapter will be out soon and hopefully not so short as this one...  
><strong>

**Disclaimer: Do not own anything!**

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><p><em><strong>~~ Pillow Talk ~~<strong>_

_**~~ 27. April, Early Midday ~~**_

Kunimitsu smiled from the inside by the warmth which surrounded him. The source of it rested on his chest and tightly against his left side. Seiichi had turned around in his sleep, searched for warmth and nestled against him since then which was a couple of hours ago. They should have gotten out of bed long ago, however, he couldn't bring it over himself to wake either of the two newborns up. His lover was also, to his surprise, still asleep with Ryoma's face in his chest and the arms holding him tightly.

It was a strange and rather uncomfortable sight. His guts clenched together and his frown deepened the more he watched them. Nevertheless, it wasn't out of jealousy, not in the normal term anyway. It was more the fact that his beloved allowed a stranger, a newborn whom they hardly knew, so close. And it wasn't the first time such a scene had been caught by his honey brown eyes. When Syusuke and Ryoma were awake neither of them would allow the other in their personal distance but whenever they slept beside each other, they would end up in such positions or similar ones.

It was strange and didn't fit to his lovers behavior because Syusuke was usually the angel who held everyone at distance, even in bed and his sleep. All the more was Kunimitsu jealous. Why the newborn? Why especially Ryoma?

Sleeping with each other was fine, but there was never the so called cuddle time afterward, just the enjoyment of giving and receiving pleasure. Kunimitsu barely remembered the times where there had been this special moments of kissing and touching each of his brothers and lovers simply for the pure pleasure of being close and sharing another second of intimacy.

Everthing had ended and stopped after the blue-winged angel had started to show the signs. The signs of the disease. Ever since then, Syusuke had shut his emotions away, faking the smiles and friendliness as good as he could. Nonetheless, Kunimitsu knew the truth behind the mask. From time to time, his mate would struggle with keeping the mask in place. The last struggle which caused the mask to slip for a moment was due to the incident with Ryoma's...aggressive behavior.

Seiichi stirred beside him, shifting positions. A clear sign for them to wake up and get ready. Syusuke had gotten a call from his dear friend Saeki Kojirou, who lived in the kingdom _Regnum Luna_, earlier while he and Genichirou had spoken and told Ryoma the truth about themselves. Saeki had warned them about an incoming strong storm which wouldn't lessen for the next few days. It was strange to think about an incoming storm. Even so far up from earth was a storm with thunder and some rain possible.

There had been a time where the angels had believed in the myth that it rained and thundered whenever the king or the queen was angry or had other ups and downs with his or her emotions. Nonetheless, as emotions were pronounced as a sign for weakness and a trigger for the incurable disease, the myth was announced as just this - a myth. Kunimitsu still believed in it, strangely but true.

He had no other explanation for the sudden change of weather whenever his father, the king, was raging because something didn't go as he had planned from the beginning? The queen of _Regnum Luna_ had a very short temper and was also know for her immune system against the disease. Nevertheless, nobody really believed in it and guessed that she was already sick or found a serum against it, told nobody of it, though.

So what was the source of _Regnum Luna_'s queen's - Aoi Hanamura - anger and rage?

Hopefully the party wouldn't suffer from it and they wouldn't meet her even if this was most likely impossible. The woman would welcome every angel and other creature, scanning the crowd for new members. She was well know by every royal family for her craving of perfection and the arrogance to snatch up other talented angels from outside families, wooing and luring them in her trap, taking them under her wings.

It certainly wasn't bad for the angels who changed sides. All of them were by now much stronger, better, faster in all their abilities and ranged a high position. However, the betrayal for changing the family just for the chance to get better was handled differently in each family. Banishment from the kingdom and every living citizen in it was the punishment in Kunimitsu's family.

He shuddered visibly by the memory of the queen trying to woo him into her family once. He would have probably agreed to join her if Syusuke and Keigo hadn't been his brothers and lovers before their first encounter. She still tried whenever the met, no matter where. His lovers weren't spared from the returning experience either. And this was what scared the brown-winged angel the most.

Seiichi's dust, his ability to adjust so fast to new rules and his stubbornness to finish the things which he had once started made him the perfect target for the queen. And if Kunimitsu had understood Syusuke right, then Seiichi was only behaving nice because his lover granted him a long desired wish if he succeeded to turn into a full fledged angel.

He didn't know if Aoi Hanamura had angels with dusts as his or his lovers too. Could she lure him in if she had?

A much more frightening possibility of being a target and victim was Ryoma. His wings alone told everybody how precious he was and what kind of powers slept in his small but powerful body. There was no doubt the queen would try everything with all methods and weapons to get him.

Someone moaned and Kunimitsu shifted his eyes to the source, staring into a pair of pure blue orbs that searched his face for any kind of reaction. A chill rushed over his spine but he didn't show it. Only Syusuke could cause such a reaction from him with one single look. It was one of the reasons why the blue-winged angel had shown interest in him since the beginning. "What are you thinking about, Mitsu?"

"Aoi Hanamura will do anything to lure both of them into her family. We shouldn't leave them out of our sight from the second we arrive till our return." Syusuke nodded. Neither of them said anything else, simply listened to the breathing sounds of the two newborns in their bed.

"Do you believe in the results?" Kunimitsu had nearly jumped in surprise by the suddenness of the question and the direct change of topic. However, what surprised him was the small fact that Syusuke already knew about the tests. How did he find out about the tests' results? How did he know about the fact that there had been tests about Ryoma's dust? "You're still like an open book for me, Mitsu. You should know by now you can't hide anything from me. I haven't told Keigo or anyone else about it, so your and Genichirou's secrets are still hidden."

The blue-winged angel turned his body around to face him directly and pulled - probably unconsciously - Ryoma's body even closer. "Why? What are you hoping for? You two are the only ones I know of for sure that can feel without getting sick. Do you want to risk a brother's life to see if the test tells the truth?"

"You know the answer to that, Syu." The blue orbs narrowed dangerously, began to pierce through his skin and dared him to dodge his gaze... "I won't harm Ryoma, I won't hurt him. He won't suffer the same like you."

"How can you say this? You still cling to the unreachable hope of being allowed to feel and show it freely without fearing the consequences? You of all people should know the re-"

"I understand your point. You have already fallen once for the disease, nearly died fr-"

"And that's the point! I have already lived through it! No one of my family should live through such a thing! It's saver for everyone to feel nothing than getting sick and losing his mind."

"You still feel just like before. Syu, you can't deny it. You would have never thrown the bottle with the mixture of your poison and water at Ryoga because I know you still have feelings, emotions like guilt, sadness and loneliness. You wouldn't cuddle with Ryoma the way you just do." There was a flicker of something in his lover's blue eyes but Kunimitsu couldn't catch it as the curtains were still closed and hid them behind the sunlight. "Syusuke, if the results are true and our guess right, then Ryoma and Seiichi are the keys to the serum against this sickness."

"I won't allow you to risk their lives, especially not Ryoma's. Someone with his wings..." The blue-winged angel shook his head in disagreement and stopped mid-sentence, glared down at the newborn beside him as he pulled his arm away harshly and stood up, rushing into the bathroom.

Great.

Making Syusuke angry was the last thing he wanted.

Kunimitsu knew Syusuke wouldn't betray him and tell anyone else about his plan. His father and mother, and most likely every other angel would as Syusuke had proven - disagree and call him insane. He didn't want to risk Ryoma's life, hadn't the intention to harm the smart newborn. However, the results which Yanagi and Inui - their research and medical experts - had given him showed the high chance of odds. If everything went well, he would see his blue-winged angel smiling truthfully again, soon.

He stood up as well when the possibility of his lover returning to bed went zero with each passing second. No use to stay in bed any longer. He needed to get ready for the journey and wake the newborns anyway. They should rest as best as they could. The flight would tire them out completely because neither of the newborns had flown for so long without a break or any complications getting in their way.

_**~~ 27. April, Midday ~~**_

Ryoma snapped his golden orbs open as quickly as both angels had left the room. His heart was still hammering in his chest, his mind racing from the new information. He didn't know where to start...

Holy! Shit!

Fuji, the cold and cruel bastard felt!

And had been infected by the disease once!

Double holy shit!

So many things made sense now. The angel did feel... had emotions... but he was hiding them... burying them deep inside of him...

That explained the cuddling in the middle of the night and the casual touches from time to time. And also why Fuji was the strictest angel. The angel hadn't shown anything at all and had punished each misstep, especially if it was a mistake of hiding emotions or showing a clear face, free of any feelings.

The newborn took a deep breath, letting the oxygen out slowly through gritted teeth. How messed up was the whole situation?!  
>One second he had the worst nightmare ever about Ryoga leaving his side forever and in the next he witnesses a secret between brothers.<p>

He couldn't think clearly. His train of thoughts was currently upside down and on a rollercoaster. The door opened and Fuji entered the room, fully dressed in the strange fitting Chinese dress - Qipao - with tight black pants which ended at his knees and fitting black flat shoes. A small black bag rested around his hips and a fake smile and closed eyes gave nothing away from the earlier conversation. As if nothing had happened between the brothers.

Ryoma would have believed the lie if Fuji's chuckle wouldn't have been so... fake. "Saa, good, you're awake. Both of you need to hurry quite a bit, so get showered and dressed. Keigo and I have already set out your clothes. They lay on the bed in the other bedroom which is connected to the bathroom."

The blue-winged angel opened the curtains and shot a glare at the two as neither of them moved. Ryoma noticed just then Yukimura who stood up and walked into the bathroom, glaring daggers at Fuji. Whoa... what the hell had happened between those two?

"You're still angry that you couldn't beat me?" Yukimura's violet eyes narrowed even more, sharpening with fierceness before he snorted and walked inside the bathroom. Fuji was still grinning and Ryoma couldn't help as to notice for the very first time the emotions being reflected in those clear blue eyes. Now that he knew about the existing feelings, he couldn't help as to search for them. "You should hurry up, too. We will start our journey today as a storm seems to be on its way."

Fuji didn't leave him any chance to ask questions as he flew out of the bedroom into the bathroom. Did the blue-winged angel know he had listened? Did he know it because his heart had been hammering so strongly and fast in his chest which had been pressed tightly against Fuji's body?

What would happen if he did?  
>Ryoma felt the headache already knocking on his head's door.<p>

Why couldn't he have slept while his brothers had this kind of talk?

The newborn rubbed his sleepy eyes, wanted nothing more than curl back up into bed and sleep longer.

"Ryoma!" Tezuka's command said it all.

No. Such. Luck.

Ryoma groaned and shuffled over with heavy steps.

It was too damn early to be awake!

* * *

><p>The shower was quickly done and so was the dress up. He was thankful and lucky for the princes' choice of clothes as he had gotten the same body as usual only with more golden accessories like rings, necklaces and chains around his hips. Though the color of the body was black and not white and the bag around his hips - like Fuji's and everybody else's - was colored in gold too.<p>

Yukimura on the other hand was fuming silently by the choice of cloth. He had gotten the same dress like Fuji only in another color - dark blue instead of chestnut red. Ryoma didn't find it ugly, he wouldn't say it out loud but Yukimura surely fit into the dress. It was disturbing to think such a thing and the longer Ryoma viewed at him, the more disturbed he got. Since when was he having such thoughts?

The other brothers were dressed in their usual outfits, the only exceptions were the extra accessories. A few guards stood around the balcony of the palace, getting ready to fly with them supposedly. The king and the queen were currently talking with Atobe while Sanada and Tezuka stood beside their new younger brothers. Neither of the rulers from _Amaterasu_ would join the flight or the feast. The reason behind it had nobody told him.

Well, Ryoma was actually quite happy to have not more than his new brothers around him. It was the most exhausting and boring thing to hold a conversation with one of his wanna-be parents and he could count the times he had spoken with both on one hand.

"Saa, are you ready?" Ryoma turned around to find Fuji behind him, watching him as he nodded. "Good. It'll be a long flight. Keigo will fly at the top while I'm at the end of the chain, Kunimitsu and Genichirou stay at your right and left side, so no one can get lost." The blue-winged angel lifted himself in the air, followed by their brothers and a dozen of guards.

Nervousness sank in as he lifted himself up in the air without problems and glanced around with open eyes. The scenery in front of him was heavenly and he would have grinned or smirked hadn't Tezuka cleared his throat and reminded him about their promise - no more showing emotions in public. It would be a very hard task to complete, especially at the feast.

He still wasn't good at socializing and doing small talk or anything in particular which had to do with befriending with other angels.

How would the other kingdom be?


	25. Arrival At Regnum Luna

**A/N: I know, I'm late... again... and I'm sorry for it... again... I hope you enjoy the next chapter, nonetheless.  
>I'm already writing on the next chapter which will be updated in the next two weeks. Pregress is surprisingly good, so I can set a deadline.<br>**

**THANKS for your patience, my dear readers, and the lovely reviews. ^-^**

**Disclaimer: Do not own anything.**

* * *

><p><strong>~~ Arrival At Regnum Luna ~~<strong>

**~~ 27. April, Late Afternoon ~~**

His question was now easy to answer: So far it was hellish and ugly wet with a lot of gray and black.

He felt like a child - one of those kids which he hated the most. A very noisy toddler who couldn't wait any longer, asking every five minutes when they would reach their destination after a very long journey. Thankfully the blood couldn't rush up to his cheeks in embarrassment and show those bas-... his brother his feelings. The heat would never reach the skin as it was more needed to keep his shivering body from freezing entirely. Tezuka had lectured him for his earlier almost smirk by directing a single glare at him right after they had started. None of his other brothers had noticed.

His stomach grumbled and Ryoma sighed in his mind. He had no clue how long they had been flying but he guessed it was already a handful of hours. At least his wings and every available muscle in his body screamed and ached like it had been many horrible hours.

The bright sky with the warming sun had disappeared long ago, just shortly after they had left the palace in _Amaterasu_. The warmth got replaced by icy rain and harsh blows of wind that blew their hairs, clothes and bodies around in the air. The storm let the small and light rain drops feel like thousand of needles striking into his skin. Ryoma was barely able to see anything at all with this haze of wetness in front of him.

His very being was drenched, especially his wings. The cloth stuck on his skin uncomfortably and grew heavier with each second, making it all the harder for him to fly. The clothes pulled him down and now he understood why nobody of his brothers had wanted to wear a coat or something similar when the storm was officially announced to them by Atobe. The extra pieces of cloth would have most likely pulled them down all the more and then Ryoma probably wouldn't have managed to fly so far.

Right at the moment, he needed more strength to actually stay up in the air, moving forward was an entirely different matter. Were they even moving forward? All he could see was grayness and some black spots from time to time, though, Ryoma had no idea what it was as the black spots were rather small and too far away.

Another loud sneeze escaped his mouth, another rumble coming from his stomach and another chill crawled over his spine, forcing him to shiver violently. He was freezing in his wet clothes, the cold sinking into his bones, forcing his body to shake uncontrollably. To make his current disaster all the worse, the wind had decided to whip the air out of him and flog its usually soft caresses mercilessly against him, forcing his wings and body to move backwards instead of forward.

The princes seemed to not mind their current situation. On a second look, Ryoma would dare to say they didn't even notice the rain, storm and tornado-like wind playing furiously with and around them.

At least Yukimura was fighting with their unusual circumstances, too. So thankfully, he wasn't the only one who had trouble keeping up the princes' pace. The other newborn looked exhausted as hell, panted hard and gritted his teeth, pushing his dark wings with full force to move smoothly. The dark blue hair was sticking flatly onto his face, making him look like a cat that got thrown into a pond. The thin lined lips and the deep frown confirmed Yukimura's dislike of the weather.

The princes hadn't stopped once for a quick break to let their youngest brothers catch their breathes, not even a small, tiny break to rest their wings. They all had paused in mid air before entering the storm, nevertheless, it wasn't for resting but rather for the princes to have a mental conversation. What exactly the talk was about, nobody had enlightened him and Yukimura about it.

However, it was very clear it had something to do with them both because the four angels had stared at them for a long moment, only to nod at each other and continue their flight. Fuji's gaze had lingered the longest on him, making him want to squirm but glare right back into those piercing blue eyes. It had been hard to suppress this reaction, nonetheless, he managed it. Ryoma had no desire to break his promise with his other two brothers. On e glare from Tezuka was enough.

If Fuji kew about their agreement? Or about his sneaking peek at his and Tezuka's very private conversation in the bedroom?!

The thought alone made Ryoma uneasy...

What would the angel do?  
>Punish him?!<br>Entirely after all what he had done...

"We're nearly there." Atobe said and interrupted Ryoma's little panic rant. His voice sounded deaf, the wind blew the sounds away. Ryoma glanced around as good as he could with the rain tearing into his eyes , though, he couldn't help but snort. Maybe he had gotten to much raindrops in his eyes because there was nothing else than grayness around them...

His stomach growled louder... loud enough for his brothers to hear. Sanada's head turned to him in confusion and then understanding... The black-winged angel turned his head around once more as if nothing had happened but Ryoma was certain he saw a whiff of a smile on his lips nevertheless.

A blast of wind caught him unprepared, shoved him backwards and right into Fuji who stopped his fall by putting his hands around his waist. The swings of his wings were already unsteady, sluggish and he feared they would suddenly stop altogether from exhaustion in the next couple of minutes if they didn't make a pause.

He was so tired...  
>...so hungry...<br>...exhausted...

...and the early wake up call wasn't helping him to remain focused and strong. Even his normally unbreakable ambition was slowly but certainly falling apart. Ryoma glanced once more from the corner of his eyes to Yukimura, the other newborn was wavering dangerously. Yukimura bit his bottom lip hard, his body shook worse than before. They wouldn't hold out much longer...

"We're nearly there. Keep going on." Fuji steadied him, pushed him carefully forward till he could fly alone without his brother's help anew. His wings fluttered, not swinging.

"The castle is over there." Tezuka watched the scene, nodded his head to the large black spot straight ahead of them, his gaze, however, never left Ryoma. The gaze was almost seizing as if the angel tried to see beneath the sweat drenched layers of clothes and skin and look how exhausted and weak he was. "The guards have already seen us."

The last bit of energy pumped through his body by the bare thought of showing weakness to an outsider. His pride wouldn't allow it. It gave him the strength, one last spurt of strength as a lightning flashed from the black cloud right above him to the cloud straight beneath him, missing him by merely an inch.

Ryoma gasped, startled and shocked to have been nearly struck by a lightning. He tried to fly backwards, out of harms way and away from the lightning. The sudden change of directions brought his wings to stutter to a halt for a moment before they continued to move out of sync from shock and surprise. His balance was thrown away and he struggled to stay up in the air if not even flying further forward.

The lightning...

Ryoma had never been so close to one. He never wanted to be again. The shock of this experience sank deep...

A few inches more and the lightning would have roasted him! Another lightning flashed right above him, followed by an ear shattering thunder.

"Ryoma! Don't stop!" The called newborn shook his head to clear it, shove the panic back and recover his control but his body wasn't listening right now. He only recognized then the two pairs of hands around his upper arms and one pair on his waist. Sanada leaned closer, forced him to gaze into his eyes and spoke louder, trying to overcome the noises of rain, thunder and storm. "Listen to our wings, get your balance back."

Ryoma swallowed hard, gulped down the sudden knot in his throat and breathed in deeply, welcoming the incoming air which his lungs needed so eagerly. He closed his eyes, tried to focus on his wings like he always did when flying and took deep shuddering breathes...

Nothing.

He focused on his spine and his wings, tried to get a hold of them. He imagined their movements when he had flown in the ballroom.

It didn't work.

What else could he do? If the hands around him wouldn't hold him up, he would be falling down, straight into the dark clouds.  
>The loud echo of an approaching thunder roared over and around him...<p>

Where was the lightning?!  
>He hadn't seen anything.<p>

Ryoma opened his eyes, searched for the lightning... but it didn't come... just the thunder... the sound...

"Here, feel the swings and focus solemnly on them." Sanada screamed over the noises, grabbed his left hand and led it, to Ryoma's surprise, to the angel's spine where the bridge between shoulder blade and wing was. "Feel it with your fingers and relax. Try to copy my movements."

It was true, Ryoma did feel the quick and still powerful movements under his cold and shivering fingertips. Each swing was gentle and fluidly, though, filled with raw power. He stared in Sanada's dark orbs, focused on them alone and fought his desire to watch out for other lightning. "That's good and now come, we are nearly there." The hands on his arms let go, so did Sanada's hands around his waist. Everyone was back in their position. Ryoma had no chance to see who's hands had been helping him beside Sanada.

Atobe glanced suspiciously at Yukimura as if he was waiting for this newborn's breakdown but whatever the prince wanted to say, he didn't and instead turned around to fly to their destination. More lightning struck and thundered close by. Ryoma flinched but forced his eyes to linger on Sanada's wings.

Atobe changed direction in a blink and flew faster till he reached a large balcony on the left side of the giant castle. Ryoma made three more swings with his wings before solid hard ground hit his wobbly feet. He stumbled forward, dangerously close to falling and wavered from one side to the other. Yukimura landed with a little more grace but grabbed the nearest angel, which was Ryoma, on the shoulders to steady his own jelly-like legs.

Yukimura closed his eyes for a second, took a couple of deep breathes, calming himself. Nonetheless, he let go of Ryoma's shoulder as soon as he saw whom he used to steady himself on. Even so, as quickly as the newborn let go he had doomed his own failure.

Yukimura's feet and legs wobbled, his wings fluttered twice before he swayed to the right side again, stumbling against his youngest brother. Ryoma smirked in triumph at his oh-so-beloved older brother who grimaced as if he had a very, very sore lollipop in his mouth. If he wouldn't feel so damn exhausted, Ryoma would strike his fist in the air at his victory but he was too tired. His own legs felt heavy and like jelly.

"It's good to see you all well. Let me welcome and led you inside the palast so you can rest." A foreign angel flew out of a door next to them, bowed deeply in greetings.

"Saeki!" Atobe and Fuji greeted the foreign angel in a friendly gesture but their reactions and movements showed differently. Atobe, Fuji, Sanada and Tezuka stepped closer to Ryoma, hid him and Yukimura from the foreigner's view. But Ryoma could see him. The angel called Saeki Kojirou wasn't a royal, there was no doubt. He wore a plain but athletic outfit and greeted each of them with a very deep and respectful bow. He didn't gaze directly in either of the princes beautiful eyes.  
>His dark blue eyes, however, did meet Ryoma's. He watched and viewed directly at Ryoma and then at Yukimura. His eyes wandered from one newborn to the other and back. Confusion was clearly reflected in these eyes and another ... feeling...<p>

Ryoma couldn't quite catch it... it seemed to be... rivalry?! The expression of confusion left completely and Saeki scanned him from head to toe as good as the princes' bodies allowed him.

No, this was certainly just an imagination.

"Where is the queen? I thought she would welcome us personally." Atobe asked, his voice sounded slightly alerted. Saeki cleared his throat, his focus returned to all of his guests once more as he gestured for them to enter the palast. He led them inside the castle and out of the heavy storm and rain. Ryoma's body felt like pudding and each step he took felt uncontrolled and wobbly because he had no energy left to fly any longer. A small puddle formed around his feet, left a trace wherever he was led to. His body began to sizzle and itch as the warmth of the castle awoke his sore muscles and freezing skin.

"The queen ordered me to welcome you as she is... hindered right now to do it. A problem has occurred at the last minute which needs her full attention. She will see you all tomorrow morning at breakfast." Saeki flew forward, deeper into the castle and straight through a large corridor. Yukimura steadied his large but fragile body against Ryoma by putting a hand on the youngest's right shoulder. Gone was the glare and arrogant pride in Yukimura's attitude. Ryoma nodded once without looking at the other newborn, nonetheless, he saw the small nod of thankfulness in return.

Their relationship wasn't the best - it was actually the worst if he considered that they were now something along the term of brothers - but he wasn't such an ass like Ryoga had been sometimes. He wouldn't leave someone who is weak at the moment alone and put his own interest at the very top of his priorities.

Ryoga...

What was his brother doing right now?

Was he well?

Tezuka and Fuji walked closer to him, stopping him from losing himself in his thoughts. Now was not the time. They all walked on their feet, not one of the brothers were flying. Ryoma had no clue if they were just exhausted too or walked with them to not make their youngest brothers appear weak. Someone squeezed his free shoulder for a second before letting go. Ryoma took it as a praising movement. Hopefully it was meant as one...

"You must be exhausted from the long journey and the storm. We have spoken a prohibition to fly for all angels in this region, so the castle has waiters, concubines and entertainers at your service at any time. " Saeki turned around as Fuji asked, "As we're not going to meet the queen at any time today, we would like to rest in our prepared rooms."

"Surely, it's fully understandable." Saeki's gaze wandered over Ryoma and Yukimura anew with the same strange look. He looked quickly away and, to Ryoma's utter shock, touched Fuji's shoulder with his filthy hands. "I'm happy that you all made it here safely, even when I'm surprised that you bring... two more angels with you... and such young ones over all." Another scan from head to toe.

Why?  
>What was wrong with him?<p>

They didn't know each other and the guy was already annoying him to no end. Slowly but certainly, the newborn was irritated by the hidden messages of these glares from the foreign angel.

His piercing golden eyes met dark blue orbs. Saeki covered the twitch of surprise by blinking and clearing his throat but Ryoma smirked. Point made. Fuji rolled his shoulder, which led Saeki's hand to drop, and took at step back, standing beside Ryoma, resting his own hand on his youngest brother. "Do not underestimate them. My new brothers are stronger than they look like."

Saeki was startled, his voice high pitched. "B-Brothers?" The angel swallowed hard and loudly and backed off, suddenly very uncomfortable with this revelation. Ryoma would ask Tezuka later on for the reason. "Well, we haven't prepared for six princes to arrived from _Amaterasu_, only for four angels. No one told us to prepare more rooms than usual."

"Saa, because of the storm we needed to rush so there was no time for us to inform you about it. You told us it will get worse with the following days." The words left Fuji's mouth in a sweet tune, nevertheless, the blue-winged angel looked more like he wanted to say: "We hadn't wanted to tell you, that's all."

"Then allow me to prep-"

"There is no need for further preparations. Our youngest brothers will sleep with one of us in our rooms."

"Er... of course, as you wish." Saeki sounded .. disappointed and opened a door to his left. "This is the guest wing. The last two rooms on the left and right side are yours. Your servant will come shortly with something to eat for you if you ask for it. If you need something, you can ask me personally." Saeki watched Fuji, his whole focus lingered there for a long moment before he bowed down and left.

"Isn't he supposed to open the door to your... our room?" The questions left Ryoma's mouth without thinking. All eyes landed on him. "It's just a simple question."

Sanada sighed and pushed him lightly forward to their rooms. "Servants aren't allowed in the guest wing, only those who are specially called are."

"Specially called?" Yukimura asked, his voice barely above a whisper. "Like for dinner?"

"Yes, and for many other, different things..." Fuji chuckled and opened the door. "Ryoma should sleep with me."

"Ryoma sleeps with me and Seiichi with Genichirou. We _all_ had agreed on it earlier this morning, haven't we, Syusuke?" Fuji's lips thinned, his sharp blue eyes showing off his dislike about Tezuka's words.

"Yes, we have."


	26. A Devious Plan

**A/N: Hello there, thanks for waiting, guys. This is sadly another rather short chapter. I hope you like it though and enjoy reading it.  
><strong>

**Thanks for the readers who had reviewed!  
>I'm happy to hear that you like it and want more to read. I hope dearly to hear more of you opinion and I'll try to write faster and longer chapters. ^-^<strong>

**Disclaimer: Do not own anything.**

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><p><em><strong>~~ A Devious Plan ~~<strong>_

_**~~ 27. April, Late Night ~~**_

Ryoma felt the push from Tezuka's hand on his spine, a firm but gentle grip which told him very clearly to not go against it and let himself be lead inside their guest room. Even if he would have wanted to go against it, to rebel, he had no energy, no strength left to do so. His wavering view was fixated solely on the very comfortable and soft looking king-sized bed in the middle of the large, spacey room and right in front of him. His surroundings didn't matter. It was safe, he was tired and the bed was ready to sleep on it.

He wanted to fall down and sleep long and deep beneath those pure white mountains of covers and pillows, warming his shivering and cold body. Showering was overrated at the moment, sleep was so much more welcome and needed. He took a stumbling step forward, his balance wavered and finally his legs gave out after the third step. Ryoma fell forward, head first.

"Ryoma?!" Hands caught him before he hit the bed or the floor, he wasn't sure which it would have been. His view was one big blur and dizziness overwhelmed him. The adrenaline was slowly reducing inside his veins, the extent of his exhaustion fully hitting him. "No, Keigo, he's alright. I will take care of him and see that he won't hurt himself." Tezuka closed the door behind him, sighing. "Come on. You need to shower first, Ryoma. You're still too young to be immune against the different human sicknesses. You haven't transformed into a full fledged angel yet and catching a cold will bring trouble for all of us."

"Mhmm..." His lips were shivering, unable to move and let his voice form some coherent words. His teeth chattered.

Tezuka chuckled and for a second Ryoma believed to have misheard or imagined the sound of such a rich voice, filled with emotions, living energy. His older brother lifted him up gently and carried him into the bathroom. The newborn hardly realized it, and everything after the small walk faded and was left in the darkness of near unconsciousness.

Though, through the dark fog of blackness around him, he noted the brief touches, the swift movements of his sticky clothes being removed and his body being put slowly into a welcoming liquid of heat. "Are you still awake?" Something brushed over his itching and already warming skin. A soft piece of cloth. His hair floated in the wetness from time to time and the shivering eased, his muscles began to relax while the tiredness grew with each passing moment. Sleep...

He wanted to sleep...

"Ryoma?"

"Hmh?"

"What do you know about the queen, Aoi Hanamura?"

"'nthing."

"I know you're exhausted but I need you to listen to me, alright?" Ryoma blinked, his tired eyes felt glued together, nevertheless, he forced them open as wide as he could which wasn't much. "Tomorrow when we meet the queen, she'll try to speak with you alone. She is well known for her way of wooing angels with other abilities over into her own family. You n-"

Tezuka's words faded, turned into a small humming sound, his sight turned black. The newborn relaxed completely, not able to hold himself awake any longer. His older brother must have noticed his mental absence as Tezuka sighed and stroked his from the hot water covered wet cheeks with his thumb. "We'll talk about it tomorrow before breakfast."

Water moved around him, coldness covered Ryoma's skin and goosebumps covered every inch of skin on his naked body. "Sleep well..."

A warm touch...

...soft...on his forehead...

...a goodnight kiss...?

His surrounding changed anew while he fell into a light slumber, waking up just barely enough to register the different temperatures, a towel drying him and hands clothing him in a long and fluffy pyjama. Ryoma wanted to purr like a big cat. The soft mattress beneath him gave in under his light weight, embracing his slim but firmly muscled body.

The place to his right dipped, the covers were lifted after Tezuka crawled under them and slipped closer to him in the middle of the large bed. A hand rested on his waist and pulled him closer so they slept right next to each other. Warmth radiated from Tezuka, heating Ryoma's still chilled frame.

Sleep...

He needed to sleep...

* * *

><p>Bones cracked, the skin of his tightly fisted hands turned white and stretched painfully. Fuji watched through the connected door between their rooms. The door was ajar, only a small slit to look through but enough space for him to see clearly. The room was dark, nevertheless, the dimmed light from the lamps on each side of each door lightened up the room enough to outline the furniture... and the people on the bed.<p>

The bed was ahead of him, a few feet away. He could see them, had watched them for a couple of minutes now... and he didn't like what he saw... not a single, tiny bit of it.

His piercing blue eyes were wide open, throwing daggers at the couple while his brows were narrowed to keep his focus on the object of interest. At least that was what he told himself. It was so easy to keep it hidden, to forget and not remember, to shove it all behind a mask. He knew from first hand experience how dangerous they were - those feelings and emotions.

They had made him sick.  
>They had made him insane.<p>

He could hardly remember anything from the time when he had been sick, though, the moments he did remember were too cruel and too disgusting for him...  
>Never again did he want to remember them.<p>

The disease had infected him, nearly controlled him to the point of no return. What he had done... to the servants, friends and even his own parents and brothers. The sacrifice for his sanity to return was high. Far too high for his liking...

It was all the more a reason for him to ignore and abandon those useless things. If it just wouldn't be so hard and difficult to do so...

His two youngest brothers were making it all the worse.

First he had found their behaviour amusing, this desperation of winning against him in every possible way. It had been fun to play and joke with his new brothers. Then it had been tickling his nerves and patience steadily as neither of them wanted to fully submit to him or his lovers, to nobody... but now it was annoying the hell out of him!

Seiichi would do anything to look strong and be able to keep his mask of pride and strength up. And with his wish and their little bargain to have Keigo's and Genichirou's dust if he behaved and listened to Syusuke's orders, there would be no problem about direct and obvious trouble. The problem was that his dear younger brother didn't accept his true new being as an angel completely and was still fighting against it in silence and in the shadow without anyone noticing.

Tthe newborn thought nobody noted it. How foolish! Syusuke was very good in watching and observing. Seiichi thought twice what he would say and do, took care that his mask was on and nothing revealed his true self and intentions, at least most of the time. Nevertheless, the reason behind wanting his brothers' and lovers' dust was still unknown and the biggest problem in Syusuke's option.

Ryoma was quite the opposite of Seiichi. This certain newborn dared to go under his nails and skin, showing openly what he felt with his words, actions and body language. The little snake had even dared to seduce Kunimitsu and Genichirou. His two lovers fell right into the trap, giving in to their secret desire to feel and show love... and all the other emotions because they had no problem with the disease... not like him...

He had survived, just barely but still, nonetheless, a certain part of him would be lost forever.  
>He would never archive it again, never wanted to feel anything because feelings had made him weak and caused endless pain which still lingered inside him. Syusuke would never forgive himself for what he had done to make a cut. A horrific cut to turn into a full fledged angel with no connections to his past.<p>

A cut that had literally killed and therfore ended everything...

...killed _him_ and _her_...

No, he wouldn't lose his lovers like he had lost his siblings... not to those two... to nobody!

Syusuke shook his head mentally. His hands hurt from the pressure and shook. It was nothing, only a simple reaction from stress and exhaustion.

He had done the one mistake which he had told his brothers to never make...  
>He had even warned Saeki about it a couple of minutes ago... to not underestimate the newborns, especially not Ryoma...<p>

How could he have been so blind and stupid?! Thinking he could break Ryoma after the little... brother had challenged him since their very first encounter, after ripping out the blue feathers from his wings...

His youngest brother was a crook, hidden behind two pretty wings. A crook who brought danger and visible lies, secrets and discomfort into their group of four.

Syusuke gritted his teeth. He had fallen into the trap so easily, the thought about the newborns being able to cause such betrayal had never crossed his mind.

It was nearly too late now...

It was a coincidence that they had the same rooms like last year. A coincidence which suited him very much. His room was connection by a side door with Ryoma's and Kunimitsu's room. Keigo, on the other hand, had free access to Seiichi's and Genichirou's guest room.

Acid roared across his veins by the bare sight before him...

Kunimitsu laid his arm around Ryoma, pulled the shivering newborn close to warm and give him shelter and comfort. Ryoma sighed in thanks and fell asleep immediately, his whole body went numb.

This little...

He couldn't find the word, his mind was blank from the... no, he wasn't feeling anything.

It was just...

Deep breaths... he needed to get himself under control or everything would shatter, his mask would fall...

He couldn't let it happen... not after all the hard work, the effort he had put in to built all this around him.

Maybe this little visit and the feast were coming at the right time...

Ryoma would pay for his mistake to woo his lovers away from him...

_**~~ 28. April, Late Morning ~~**_

"Ryoma." A gentle shake on his right shoulder, followed by the sound of loud thunders. Soft light erupted around him, not from the lightning but from a large lamp above them on the ceiling. The storm from yesterday was still roaring outside. "Ryoma, it's time to wake up." The person continued to shake him, this time stronger and with more determination to archive his goal.

"'ust five more minutes..." He mumbled and tried to pull the warm covers closer up his body, nevertheless, the person stopped him from it, pushing the fluffy and warming covers away.

"We're expected by the queen for breakfast and I need to talk to you about something really important before we meet her. Wake up." Ryoma groaned loudly, curled his body together in an attempt to keep his body warm and continue his sweet dream.

His whole body ached, his muscles protested against each movement. Was he so out of shape? When was the last time he had played tennis?

The person sighed and a shadow hovered above the newborn's face. "You have five minutes to get ready or you'll get the great punishment of having a double lesson in manners and dancing today."

Oh god, how cruel!  
>He could bare lift his head or his feet. They felt heavy as hell, every inch of him hurt.<p>

"'ine..." The newborn sat up sluggishly and carefully as not to strain any more muscles, yawned visibly and blinked the heavy sleep out of his eyes. Tezuka stood right in front of him, arms crossed over his chest and a stoic but at the same time amused expression on his face. There was this certain spark in those honey brown eyes... The one from before...

Ryoma ruffled his hair, making it even more messier than it had already been.

"You really aren't an early riser." Another unstoppable yawn escaped his lips as if to confirm Tezuka's statement. "Are you awake enough to listen?" Ryoma nodded, rubbed his tired eyes before looking up at his older brother with large golden orbs. Hopefully his body wouldn't hurt worse as the day progressed. "You need to know something about the queen's behaviour before she tries to speak with you alone. The others had agreed to not tell you or Seiichi about it, but you should know what will really take place at the feast and why it is held in the first place."

* * *

><p>Syusuke opened the door to the ball room and paused, taking in the sight above him. A knot and something like acid filled his stomach by the sight. He had the desire to rip them apart and hiss at Seiichi for being so close but he had no emotions, so he did nothing, simply viewed around the hall which was furnished like a very spacey living room.<p>

Thanks to Saeki, they were allowed to use it before the feast started in a few days. All it had taken was Keigo hinting smartly about how nice it would be to rest and relax in a large room together while they waited for the queen. Saeki, the very obedient servant he had always been, asked for the keys to the ball room and offered it to them.

"Stop your wings when you make the twist. This way you won't tangle them with your partner's." Genichirou flew again, starting the slow waltz once more. Seiichi did as he was told and this time the dance step was fluid and without any mistakes. "Good."

Syusuke entered the training's hall entirely, spotting Keigo on the couch, hovering over a few pieces of business papers in front of him on the small table. Saeki stood close by, far too close and the hand resting on the chair's spine irritated the blue-winged angel but he wouldn't say anything. He had no reason to.

His chance would come soon enough to prove his point.

All he needed was being careful and keep his mask up if his plan, which he had formed and thought over through last night, should work fluidly and without a single mistake or suspicion. His brothers should never know...


End file.
